


Promise

by Lieutenant_Romanoff



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Badass!Ori, F/M, M/M, OC centered, Oblivious Thorin, Slow Build, bagginshield, character deaths are canon ones, unless I make this everyone lives, which I'm considering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-02-15 14:16:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2232066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lieutenant_Romanoff/pseuds/Lieutenant_Romanoff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eliza Ironhand always wanted some adventure in her life. But maybe the trip to reclaim Erebor is too much adventure as she has to deal with a soppy dwarf in love with arguably the most terrifying dwarf in the company, a hobbit in love with an oblivious king and even a dwarf in love with an elf. What the hell is the world coming to?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Adventure Begins

**Author's Note:**

> So this story is taken from my old fanfiction.net account but if you've read that version, this one is quite different :)

The year was 2941. It was mid springtime and the Blue Mountains were alive with colour. Emerald trees towered high above seas of sunny yellows, vibrant pinks and deep blues. There were wispy clouds high in the sky, floating about like ships in an endless sea of pale blue. It was a warm day, but not so hot that it was uncomfortable. A light breeze blew around the town, giving the inhabitants a cool release from the heat. In fact, one could say it was a perfect day.

The town was mainly full of men, perhaps the least special species that inhabited Middle-Earth, yet here in towns like this they thrived. They went about their daily business without complaint, building houses and other structures and trading items in small markets. At first glance the Blue Mountains would seem like any other town of men. But at a closer look you would notice the smaller people that also wandered around the town for the town was also inhabited by a group of dwarves.

These particular dwarves were known as Durin's dwarves and they had once been incredibly powerful. They owned the great kingdom of Erebor where the great king Thrór had ruled over his people, digging up thousands of precious gems. Even the elves of Mirkwood had respect for the dwarves that lived in this magnificent city. But that had long since changed. A great dragon from the north had flew down like a hurricane and attacked the town, forcing all the dwarves living there to flee for their lives. The dragon was known as Smaug and he had guarded his treasure since that time for dragons are incredibly greedy creatures.

The Durin's dwarves, now homeless, had travelled for weeks until they encountered Azog the defiler and his army of orcs. A vicious battle had ensued, resulting in the death of Thrór and leaving his grandson, Thorin Oakenshield, as the leader of their people. Thorin bravely fought against Azog using nothing but an oak branch as a shield and eventually the pale Orc was defeated. Thorin had then led his people to the Blue Mountains where they had taken shelter amongst the men, desperate and poor.

It was a story that Eliza Ironhand pestered her grandfather to tell her every time she visited even though she was now 75 years old and on the verge of being considered an adult. Eliza's grandfather was Nár Ironhand, a particularly brave dwarf who had fought alongside Thorin Oakenshield in the battle with the pale Orc. He had been there by the King's side as Thrór's severed head had been raised high into the air by Azog the defiler. He had seen the look in Thorin's eyes as he'd charged towards the Orc. He'd experienced all of that and now was considered to be a friend of the King. Nár had changed a lot since then though. During the battle he'd been badly injured, losing both his left hand and left leg. He now had a hand made of metal and a thick oak branch as a leg. For the rest of his life he was forced to limp around with a walking stick, something he was highly ashamed of.

But despite his own hatred of his injury, it still attracted the attention of a young dwarven maiden by the name of Isabella. She followed the crippled dwarf around wherever he went and after some time Nár realised her affections for him. The two had quickly fallen in love and built themselves a beautiful home in the Blue Mountains and although it had none of the grandeur that Erebor once had, they were both immensely happy.

Eliza was incredibly proud of both of her grandparents so tried to visit as often as she could although this wasn't always possible because the journey from her home to the Blue Mountains was a long and potentially dangerous one that her parents would still not let her take alone. Or rather, her mother would not let her take alone. Whereas Telchar Ironhand was generally more relaxed, Skye Ironhand was a rather paranoid woman who preferred to have her children by her side at all times.

Now Skye had a rather odd parentage with her father being the wizard Radagast the brown and her mother being... Well no-one really knew. It was unlikely to be another Istari and so most people assumed it was some human woman but there were also rumours of it being an elf maiden. Skye never bothered to ask her father who it was for she cared little for a woman who wasn't around when she was growing up. However it did mean that she was a little too overbearing on her own children. Skye possessed some magical abilities inherited from her father but she chose not to use them as much as Eliza did. Eliza was exceptionally proud of having even slight magic powers and was determined to further her abilities. Her brother, Sterling, also possessed some magical abilities but he mainly took after his father. He still joined Eliza on her adventures in the forests around their home but, unusually for a dwarf, he had no spirit for adventure and spent most of his time squealing at the slightest noises and hiding behind his big sister.

The family had chosen to live in Rivendell as, although they strongly disliked the elves of Mirkwood due to their betrayal at Erebor, they had no problem with the elves of Rivendell who were only too happy to accept them into the city. They did not wish to live in the Blue Mountains as they hated the looks of resentment they recieved from the men there (men were rather untrusting of Skye and Eliza's magical abilities) as well as some of the dwarves. Skye and Telchar had also insisted on giving their children the best education possible and Rivendell seemed to offer this. Lord Elrond himself had even agreed to mentor Eliza in all areas of her education, including archery, fighting and magic.

However, Eliza had also inherited her dwarven grandparents' stubborn nature which meant that whatever the elves told her to do, she did the complete opposite. This had led to her becoming very good friends with Elrond's troublesome twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir, but also surprisingly their sensible sister Arwen. Eliza and Arwen were practically inseparable and whenever Eliza got in trouble you could guarantee that Arwen would be there to get her out of it.

Despite her love of the elves of Rivendell, Eliza still preferred the Blue Mountains despite all the strange looks she got there. She didn't have any friends in the town as their trips were usually short and far apart so she never had chance to make friends. Instead she dragged her brother into the caves in the side of the mountain and into the fields where they'd often be chased off by angry farmers. But that was what Eliza enjoyed. Rivendell was fun but it was the same thing over and over again. Sterling might be happy with the same routine day in day out but all Eliza wanted was a little adventure.

Who knew that she'd end up getting exactly what she wanted?

The day began like any other, Eliza woke up and rolled out of bed, getting dressed quickly so that she could go out exploring the town or rather the caves in the mountains. She used to visit much higher up the mountain but after a nasty incident with some Wargs when she was younger she never went anywhere higher than the fourth cave. If she had a second encounter with the vicious creatures she didn't think she'd be so lucky again.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs she found her grandfather sat at the table smoking a long pipe, blowing wide smoke rings into the air. The old dwarf looked up at his granddaughter and gave her a crinkled smile.

"Mornin', Princess." He greeted her as usual

"How many times Grandpa, you can't be a princess if you don't have a prince. And last time I checked I didn't have one!" Eliza teased him as she searched for her cloak.

"Well I'm sure ye will get one, princess. Any prince would be stupid to not want to marry you" He said with a wink.

"I'm only marrying a prince if I fall in love with him, Grandpa. It shouldn't matter who he is as long as I love him. Take you and Grandma for example. Besides, perhaps I won't marry at all." She insisted, eventually finding the dark cloak on top of a pile of old maps of Erebor.

"Don't ye let yer mother hear that! Ye know 'ow desperate she is fer some grandkids." Nár said, laughing

"Don't remind me." She muttered, imagining how her mother would react to her saying that she was never going to marry. She found her boots by the door and began to tug them on.

"Where d'ya think yer going?" The old dwarf asked as she went to open the door. She looked back at him questioningly, he never usually had a problem with her leaving the house to go exploring. In fact, most of the time he'd encourage her inquisitive behaviour.

"Just going out." She answered him. Nár shook his head and coughed, sending spirals of smoke out of his mouth.

"Sorry, princess. Thought ye knew but I s'pose not. Every dwarf has to go to the centre o' town jus' before midday." He told her.

"Who says so?" Eliza snapped, her stubborn dwarf nature kicking in.

"King Thorin says so. Ye'd be a fool to not listen to 'im." He replied without looking at her, instead choosing to focus on the perfect rings of smoke that floated up to the ceiling.

"Fine, I suppose I ought to go get Sterling up." Eliza muttered, kicking off her boots and climbing up the stairs.

"Aye." Her grandfather said to her retreating figure.

Nár and Isabella's house was relatively large for people as small as them and there were plenty of rooms for the family to stay in. Eliza had her own room, as did her brother and her parents stayed in one of the guest rooms. Her grandparents slept downstairs because Nár now struggled to climb even the smallest number of stairs.

Eliza walked straight into her younger brothers room, not bothering to knock. She sat down on the edge of his bed and gently shook him.

"Come on Ster, we've got to get up."

"No, Elle. I don' want no adventures today." He groaned, covering his head with the pillow.

"We're not going on an adventure. We've been told that we've got to go into town."

"Since when d'you do what you're told?" Sterling asked, his bright blue eyes peeking out from under the pillow.

"Since it was the Kings order." That comment was enough for him to remove his head from under the shelter of the pillow. Eliza considered that an extraordinary feat in itself.

"S'pose I should get up then." He grimaced as he began to clamber out of bed.

Eliza grinned in success and jogged downstairs to where her grandfather was putting away his pipe and trying to climb up from the table. He grimaced in pain as he leaned on the table for support. The stick he held in his hand suddenly slipped from his grasp and he went tumbling towards the ground. Within seconds Eliza was by his side, holding him up and returning his walking stick to him.

"You need to start asking for help, Grandpa." Eliza scolded him as he regained his footing.

"I'm not completely useless." He grumbled at her, his dwarvish pride kicking in as he limped away from his granddaughter.

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that by trying to do that by yourself you'll just cause yourself more damage." Eliza told him but the old dwarf just muttered something unintelligible under his breath.

At that moment, Sterling stumbled into the room, tripping over the last few stairs and having to steady himself by clinging onto the wall.

"Clumsy." Eliza said to him with a grin which Sterling returned.

"Come on ye two. Yer father and grandmother are waiting fer us in town. If we don' leave now we'll be late and you'll be explaining to the great Thorin Oakenshield why ye don't have the decency to be on time!" Nár snapped at his grandchildren and they quickly fell to his side like obidient puppies.

Together the trio made their way into the town centre where a small stage had been set up. Stood atop the structure was none other than Thorin Oakenshield. Even though Eliza and Sterling had visited the Blue Mountains before, they had never actually seen the King. All they'd ever heard about him had come from their grandfather's stories of Erebor and of great battles. Eliza had looked up to this man who had been the main character in her bedtime stories and seeing him in the flesh seemed to confirm what the stories had told her. She knew the man had to be almost as old as her grandfather but instead of being hunched over or having to use a walking stick to move he held himself up, back straight and had the presence of being someone incredibly important which, of course, he was.

"He's exactly what I imagined." Sterling whispered beside her. Although her younger brother did not share her love for adventure, he had still enjoyed hearing tales of the great Thorin Oakenshield and he too looked up to him.

Thorin looked straight at the newcomers and inclined his head slightly at the elderly dwarf. Nár immediately straightened up and nodded back at the King with a small smile playing on his lips. After this short exchange the group of three made their way over to where their father and grandmother were waiting for them.

"Now that we are all here I have an announcement to make. An announcement that affects every person with dwarven blood." Thorin spoke and his words had such power that all the surrounding dwarves, and even a few inquisitive men, fell silent and listened. "Many years ago, Durin's dwarves were powerful, respected beings who lived in the great Kingdom of Erebor. We had plenty of treasure and we positively thrived. But, as you all know, that changed when the terrible dragon, Smaug, attacked. He stole all that was rightfully ours and to this very day he guards it. He sleeps in our halls that we worked so hard to build. Well no more. We are going to claim back what is rightfully ours!"

Around the stage people were suddenly realising exactly what their King meant. The effect was instant and people began shaking their heads, turning to mutter to their neighbours.

"Trying to reclaim Erebor is suicide, Thorin." A dwarf with a long black beard shouted up at Thorin "Even you are not capable of reclaiming Erebor."

"Perhaps not, but I can try!" Thorin bellowed back, reducing the dwarves to silent beings yet again. A dwarf with a pure white beard and bushy white hair stepped forwards and climbed onto the stage. All eyes were on him.

"I will follow you." The old dwarf said and Thorin smiled and rested his hand on the dwarves shoulder.

"As will I!" Cried a voice from near the front and a relatively young dwarf with a blonde beard in braids walked onto the stage.

"And so will I!" Said another voice and a beardless dwarf literally ran onto the stage to stand beside the one with braids. Thorin smiled again and said something quietly to the pair which made them positively beam.

Slowly, more and more dwarves mounted the stage, mainly in groups of two or three. 12 dwarves now stood on the stage beside Thorin Oakenshield and each held a contract in their hands. Eliza turned to talk to her grandfather but realised that he was not there. She looked around in a panic and finally spotted him a few paces away from the stairs. A few dwarves around him had stopped talking and looked at him in shock. The elderly dwarf paid no notice to them and instead focused on reaching the steps.

"Grandpa, no!" Eliza shouted as she fought her way through the crowd to reach him. Before he took his first step onto the small staircase, she had flung herself in front of him, blocking his path.

"Get out o' the way, Eliza." He muttered to her.

"No. I'm not letting you do this." She told him. They'd attracted a lot of attention now, even Thorin Oakenshieldhad turned to face them, an inquisitive look on his face.

"Eliza, please." Nár said weakly.

"I can't let you go, Grandpa. You'll get killed." Eliza told the old man.

"Princess, you know what this means to me." He said softly, looking up at her. It was true, Eliza knew exactly what this meant to him. Erebor had been his home, the purpose of this quest was not to get treasure or to become rich. It was simply to regain pride and to get their home back. Her grandfather had always complained about the dirty looks that the men in the town gave him and although he loved his home, she knew he wished for a place that he could truly call home again. But despite all this, she couldn't let him get killed.

"I know you want your home back, but you know that if you go on this adventure you won't come back." Eliza told him. After a moments pause he spoke again.

"I guess you're right." He said. The pain in his voice broke Eliza's heart and as he turned away from the stage Eliza made a decision.

"Grandpa can't go." She repeated to herself as she walked away, following her grandfathers steps "He can't go... But you can." Eliza whipped around and quickly walked onto the stage, taking the steps two at a time. She stood in front of Thorin Oakenshield and looked up at him, the man who'd been her hero for years, and she spoke.

"I wish to join your adventure." The impact that these few words had on the dwarves was incredible. Those in the crowd began to talk amongst themselves, some looked shocked, others found the whole matter completely hilarious but the one face that stood out was her grandfathers look of absolute pride.

"And who are you?" Thorin asked. Eliza tried to tell how he had reacted to her announcement but she couldn't detect any emotion in his tone.

"My name is Eliza Ironhand. Granddaughter of the dwarves, Nár Ironhand and Isabella Ironhand and of the great wizard Radagast the Brown." As expected several of the dwarves signing contracts tutted. The crowd began to mutter amongst themselves, shooting Eliza dirty looks. Dwarves had a strong distrust of magic and she knew they would resent someone who wasn't of pure dwarven descent going to reclaim one of the greatest dwarven cities of all time.

"A wizard?" He said simply after the crowd had quietened down.

"Surely that puts you at an advantage. Having a wizard on your side." Eliza explained, surprised at how steady her voice sounded.

"I don't see why we should take you along on this adventure. A dwarven woman would be strong enough to handle it but I'm not sure about you." Thorin said to her, arms crossed. Eliza clenched her fists and could almost hear her grandfathers voice in her head telling her that it would most definitely not be a good idea to snap at the King. Naturally, she chose to ignore the voice.

"I am a dwarven woman!" Eliza snapped and she could've sworn she heard her grandfather groan. Thorin raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Eliza saw the beardless dwarf turned to talk to the one with blonde braids.

"That beardless face says otherwise. Honestly, nothing like a true dwarven woman." He whispered but not quietly enough and Eliza heard every word he said.

After laughing to herself about the irony of him mentioning her lack of beard she unsheathed her dagger and chucked it at the young dwarf. It hit the back leg of the chair and cracked it slightly. The dwarf in question laughed.

"You missed!" He shouted through his laughter.

"No I didn't." She replied with a smirk.

The dwarf stopped smiling and his chair broke, sending him toppling off of the stage with a small scream. The rest of the dwarves were absolutely howling with laughter and when the dwarf re-emerged from behind the stage with leaves stuck in his hair they just laughed harder. But no-one laughed more than the blonde dwarf whom he'd been talking to. Eventually even the victim of her attack let out a small smile.

"Alright then, I suppose there's room for another person on our adventure." Thorin said to Eliza and she positively beamed back at him. She'd proved herself to be worthy of being in the company of Thorin Oakenshield and that was perhaps her proudest moment.

The beardless dwarf stepped forwards and held out a hand for her to shake.

"Nice trick back there, I suppose I did deserve it." He said with a grin.

"Yes you certainly did." Eliza smiled back and the dwarf let out a laugh.

"I'm Kili. It's a pleasure to meet you." The blonde haired dwarf stepped next to Kili and bowed to her.

"And I'm Fili, this idiot's older brother." He said with a grin and he passed her the contract that she had to sign to officially be a member of Thorin's company. She quickly signed it, not taking much time to read the terms and conditions. She passed it back to Fili who walked off to give it Thorin.

One by one, the rest of the dwarves in Thorin's company came up and introduced themselves. There was Fili, Kili and Thorin, Ori, Nori, Dori, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dwalin and Balin. It turned out that Balin was also a friend of her grandfathers and was extremely pleased that someone from the family was joining the company.

"You are now all free to leave. Members of the company, we leave at first light tomorrow morning" Thorin told the dwarves and they immediately scattered out in all directions to continue their daily business.

Eliza climbed off of the stage and headed straight towards her family. Her grandfather beamed at her in pride and even her father gave her a small smile. Sterling, however, looked to be on the verge of tears. He ran towards her and enveloped her in a massive hug.

"I- don'- want- you-to-leave!" He sniffed, looking up at her, blue eyes brimming with tears.

"Hey don't cry, little star." Eliza whispered, using his old childhood nickname. "I'll be fine." She kissed the top of his head and he pulled away, still sniffing.

Her grandmother smiled at her and rested her hand on her shoulder.

"You better be careful, 'Liza." She warned but Eliza knew that her grandmother was happy that she was finally going on an adventure which was all she had wanted.

Eliza turned to her grandfather who smiled broadly at her. He wrapped his arms round her.

"I've ne'er been more proud of yer, princess." He whispered to her and Eliza felt a surge of pride. Her grandfather was proud of her and that was all that mattered.

Eliza looked up at her father who was desperately trying to cover up a smile. A part of him was filled with concern for his eldest child, for he knew the journey to Erebor would be a dangerous one. But another part of him was desperate to reclaim Erebor, desperate to regain the power that the dwarves once had. But he'never admit any of that. He sighed.

"Your mother's going to be furious." Was all he said.


	2. Leaving Home

Telchar Ironhand was right about his wife's reaction to the news. When the small group had returned home from town, Sterling refusing to leave his sister's side even for a moment for fear of her getting herself into even more trouble, they found Skye sat at the kitchen table with a book in hand. She looked up as her family members entered the room.

"Well what did Thorin want then?" She asked at once, worried about what the meeting was for.

"He was askin' fer people to go on a quest." Nár explained briefly, sitting himself down.

"A quest for what exactly?" Skye asked, her eyes returning to the book in her hand.

"They want to reclaim Erebor." Sterling told his mother as he hung his cloak up on an ivory peg. Skye merely rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath that sounded something a lot like 'suicide mission'.

"Please tell me you didn't volunteer." She casually asked her husband, having no doubt that he wasn't crazy enough to join such a quest

"Nah, I didn't." He replied, leaving out the details of the situation. Skye nodded to herself.

"Of course he didn't! But 'Liza did!" Nár added and Skye's eyes stopped their journey across the pages of her book. Sterling backed away towards the staircase, fearing that his mother would explode with anger at any point. Nár however continued to grin as if this were the best news he'd heard in years. Eliza's mother turned her face away from the book and looked at her daughter.

"You did what?" She said calmly which somehow was even more terrifying than her screaming.

"I volunteered to go on the quest to reclaim Erebor." Eliza clarified, holding herself up straighter.

"You're not going." Her mother said simply, turning back to her book. Perhaps it would've been best for Eliza to leave it there, accept her mothers instruction and forget all about the adventure. But Eliza didn't like being told what to do, especially not when it stopped her doing something that she really wanted.

"You can't stop me, I'm practically an adult now anyway." Eliza said matter-of-factly.

"I don't care, Eliza. I'm your mother and I forbid you from going." The woman snapped, refusing to look up at her eldest child.

"You can't control my life forever. I'm going on this quest whether you like it or not!" Eliza was almost shouting now, fuelled by her anger.

"You are not going on this quest, it's a suicide mission!" Skye shouted back, looking at her daughter at last, brown eyes filled with pure rage.

"It's too late, I've already signed the contract!" Eliza bellowed. The room fell silent yet again. Sterling took the opportunity to dash up the stairs and Telchar muttered something about needing firewood and he walked out of the house. Even Isabella chose to wander into the kitchen. Only Nár remained to watch the mother versus daughter argument. Skye carefully laid the book on the table and took a deep breath.

"What time is the company leaving to go to Erebor?" She said, back to her calm tone of voice.

"Midday tomorrow." Eliza lied at once. Thankfully her grandfather did not say anything because although dwarves could be dim-witted sometimes, they weren't completely stupid.

"Right then. You are not to leave the house tomorrow, I will be up early to ensure that you aren't tempted to leave the house. That is my final word on the matter." Her mother said, picking up her book again and falling into silence. Eliza shot her mother one last scowl and she stormed up the stairs. She was about to run into her room when she heard the sound of crying coming from her little brothers room. She narrowly opened the door and peeked in. Her brother was sat on the floor, knees hunched up under his chin, tears pouring down his face.

"Ster?"

"Go away, 'Liza." He sniffed. Eliza ignored him and walked into the room, closing the door behind her. She sat down on the floor next to him and wrapped her arms around him. At first he resisted the embrace but after a minute or so he gave in and wrapped his arms around his big sister. They sat like this for a while, Eliza stroking Sterling's curly hair, Sterling quietly crying into his big sisters shirt.

"Can you promise me something, Elle?" Sterling asked, looking up at Eliza, blue eyes still brimming with tears.

"Depends what it is, Ster." She whispered back.

"Can we both promise to stay by each others sides? To never ever leave?" He asked. Eliza felt a jolt in her heart. As much as she wanted to turn around and say of course she'd never leave, she couldn't lie to her brother. After all, despite her mother's insistence that Eliza would not be going to Erebor, she had a cunning plan. Eventually she came up with an idea.

"Sure, Ster."

"Pinky promise?" He asked, holding up his little finger. Eliza interlocked their little fingers and she discreetly crossed her other fingers so that it didn't count. Yes it was childish, but it was the only way she knew Sterling would accept.

"I promise to never leave my little brothers side and to protect him from harm." Eliza said with a smile at Sterling.

"And I promise to never leave my big sister's side to make sure she doesn't get into any more trouble!" Sterling grinned. They let go of each others fingers and Eliza uncrossed her fingers.

"I'm going to my room, Ster." Eliza said, getting up from the floor and walking towards the door.

"See you tomorrow, Elle." Sterling said, climbing into his bed. Eliza gave him a weak smile.

"See you, Ster." Eliza replied, closing the door as she left the room. When Eliza reached her bedroom, she climbed into her bed and smiled slightly. Tomorrow she'd wake up extra early because her mother thought the company wouldn't be leaving until midday. She'd got exceptionally good at lying so she knew that her mother believed her words. That would give her the chance to sneak out the house and by the time her mother woke up, she'd be long gone.

With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes and prepared to sleep. After all, she needed to make sure she'd be we'll rested for an early start the next day.

* * *

The next morning Eliza woke up about an hour or so before sunrise. She clambered out of bed and silently paced over to the wardrobe. She threw on some old clothes for the day and packed a spare pair just in case. She also chucked in her sketch book and some quills because she never went anywhere without them. She picked up her quiver full of arrows and her bow and put her sword and dagger into their sheaths. Then she quietly paced downstairs, being careful to jump over the last step which had been known to make a loud creaking noise.

When she reached the kitchen she quickly piled a small amount of food into her bag along with a cup that could be used if they found a source of water. She then tiptoed over to the medicinal cupboard and picked up some basic healing herbs because she got the feeling that they'd be extremely useful on the trip.

Eliza went to put her boots on but stopped suddenly. She couldn't leave without writing a note. She swiftly pulled out her sketch book with its dusty red leather cover and ripped out a clean page. She picked up a quill and began to write.

To my family,

I'm so sorry for leaving like this, but I have to. Mother won't let me go to Erebor but I have to go. You wouldn't understand but being a member of the company makes me feel like I'm doing something useful with my life. I don't just want to live in one place, having the same routine each day. What I need is adventure, and now it's been offered to me I'd be a fool to turn it down.

I hope you'll understand and forgive me.

Eliza

Unbeknown to Eliza, the note would later be found by her mother who had ran downstairs in horror, realising that her daughter's bed was empty. Eliza did not know that her mother would weep and weep and curse herself for being a terrible mother nor did she know that even her grandfather who had been so proud of Eliza would bow his head and pray that his granddaughter would return home unharmed, with Erebor reclaimed or not. Eliza would also not know that her brother was nowhere among her family, not until the company had set out at least.

Eliza walked swiftly to the centre of town for the first light of the new day was starting to seep through the darkness and she knew that the company would be leaving anytime soon and that they would not wait for her. In fact, had Eliza spent any longer in the house she would've missed the company completely for when she reached the stage in the middle of town, her companions were already clambering onto their ponies. Eliza picked up her pace and Fili spotted her.

"She's here!" He shouted out, grabbing the attention of the whole company. A few people cheered as she got closer and she couldn't help but smile slightly.

"It's about time you got here! We thought we might have to leave without you!" Kili said to her as she climbed onto a jet black steed that the company had prepared for her.

"Sorry, I couldn't leave without writing a note." Eliza explained in a hurry.

"A note?" Young Ori questioned "Didn't your family get up to see you off?" Eliza shifted uncomfortably.

"No. In fact none of them know I've left. My mother and I had a, erm, disagreement last night. She refused to let me come on this adventure so I had to sneak out of the house. I didn't get a chance to say goodbye." She explained. A couple of the dwarves shot her sympathetic looks but the majority just shook their heads and turned away from her.

"We better leave now. We have to make a detour before we set off for Erebor." Thorin said sharply, leading his group to the edge of the Blue Mountains. They had been traveling for about four hours when they passed a cluster of trees where Eliza remembered camping on her trips from Rivendell to the Blue Mountains. She thought of home and wondered how her family was reacting to her sudden departure. We're they sad? Angry? Disappointed? How was Sterling taking the news?

"Eliza!" Cried a voice in the distance. She turned around, looking for the source of the noise but she couldn't see anyone. She shook her head and her pony continued to trot on. But then she heard it again, louder this time.

"Eliza, you might want to look at this." Kili said from her left, looking behind him. Eliza followed his gaze and felt her heart plummet. There, riding on the family's grey pony was none other than...

"STERLING!" Eliza shouted. Her little brother galloped towards them and stopped next to his sister, a massive grin on his face.

"Hello, Eliza." He said cheerily

"What are you doing here?" Eliza snarled at him.

"I'm joining your adventure!" He said and the dwarves exchanged looks. Balin then withdrew a contract from his bag and passed it to Sterling along with a quill.

"Oh no you're not!" Eliza snapped, trying to grab the contract from her brothers grasp but he steered the pony away from her reach. He quickly signed his name and passed it back to Balin before Eliza could snatch it away.

"Sterling what do you think you're doing?!" She hissed at him.

"Joining you on your adventure, obviously." He replied as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"But you hate adventures! You always complained when I dragged you out to explore caves and things!" Eliza retorted. The dwarves in the company were silent now, listening to the two siblings bickering.

"We promised that we'd stick by each other's sides." He reminded her.

"I had my fingers crossed, it doesn't count!" Eliza practically yelled at him.

"I didn't!" He shouted back at her. Eliza froze. She'd made a promise to Sterling to stay by his side but made sure she didn't have to keep it. She hasn't quite realised that he'd made the same promise to stick with her and he had meant it. Suddenly Eliza realised just how cunning her little brother was, he knew she'd try and get out of the promise so he'd twisted it to ensure that there was no way out. For the first time since he had ridden up to the group, Eliza smiled at Sterling.

"Well I suppose I better keep my end of the deal then." She said slowly and Sterling grinned back at her.

"Thank you." He whispered, quiet enough so the other dwarves couldn't hear him although Fili and Kili, who'd been listening in, had heard it.

"I suppose we'd better start with fighting considering the last time you tried to shoot an arrow, you shot it into my foot." Eliza muttered and Kili snorted.

"And I'll teach you the basics of sword fighting." Fili said with a grin.

"And I'll help with the archery because I don't think your sister's quite as good as me." Kili bragged.

"Watch it." Eliza snarled at him and Sterling shot the beardless dwarf a cheeky grin.

"Better be careful, Kili. Last time you insulted my sister you went tumbling off a stage. Perhaps this time she'll send you tumbling off a cliff." Eliza laughed and sent a grin in her younger brothers direction. Kili huffed and galloped off to ride alongside his Uncle.

"Don't worry about him, he's still annoyed that you made everyone laugh at him." Fili explained, looking ahead at his brother. "He'll be back with us soon, trust me."

"Thorin, where exactly is this detour taking us?" Balin asked from just in front of Eliza.

"To a place called the Shire. We've been informed that there's a burglar there." Thorin replied, without turning around

"In the Shire?" Sterling asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah the only people you'll find in the Shire are hobbits and I doubt of them will be interested in adventures!" Eliza said, scoffing at the very idea of a hobbit willingly coming on an adventure.

"Well that's what we've been told so that's where we're going" Thorin replied and Eliza just shrugged. Her brother had surprised her this morning, perhaps this mysterious hobbit would do the same.


	3. First Sign of Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this has taken so long to get up, it's been a chaotic few weeks but here's the next chapter anyway! <3

It took a couple of weeks for the small company to reach the Shire and along the way they'd often encountered some trouble. Most of these problems were unfortunately caused by young Sterling and Thorin had threatened on several occasions to tie him to a tree and leave him there. As much as Eliza didn't like the idea of her brother on a dangerous mission, she didn't think the way to resolve this involved abandoning him. So she made it her mission to teach him at least basic combat skills.  
Fili and Kili would sometimes help her teach her brother how to handle bows, daggers and swords and even Bofur and Ori helped out a bit although Eliza didn't suppose Sterling would last long in a fight if he was using a slingshot like the one Ori wielded.  
The problem with teaching Sterling how to use dangerous weapons was that he had a nasty habit of unintentionally injuring those helping him out. By the end of the first week he had shot an arrow in Eliza's foot (again), sliced one of Fili's fingers and given Bofur a nasty bruise on his left cheek.  
Despite this, Eliza was determined to teach her brother even the most basic fighting techniques and she was proud to say that by the 7th day of their journey he had managed to hold a 10 minute sword fight with Fili. Eliza had her doubts on whether or not Fili had really been trying but Sterling's look of complete joy was enough for her to keep her mouth firmly shut.  
However, the real test came for Sterling one evening when the company got into some real trouble.  
Most of the company were sat in the clearing, singing joyfully, the danger of their quest still not completely sinking in but not Eliza and Sterling. They were out in the woods surrounding their little campsite, collecting firewood but also mucking around as siblings do. Eventually Eliza decided that their companions would probably be getting cold now and what Eliza really didn't want was for Thorin to get angry at her and Sterling for what was probably the millionth time. They began to make their way towards camp when Eliza suddenly froze.  
"What is-" Sterling begun but Eliza cut him off by quickly placing her hand over his mouth.  
"Do you hear that?" She whispered, straining her ears. In the distance she could hear something that sounded worryingly like Black Speech, the language commonly used by Orcs. Sterling listened carefully and his eyes widened as he realised what he was hearing. Eliza lowered her hand slowly.  
"We need to climb into the trees and make our way over there as quietly as possible." She said and Sterling nodded, unable to formulate words in the potentially life-threatening situation they were in.  
Luckily for the pair, they'd spent a lot of their childhood in trees, Eliza dragging her little brother along and jumping out silently in front of unsuspecting elves. This meant they were able to scramble up a tree, barely rustling the leaves. They edged out onto the wide branches and leaped to the next oak. They continued in this fashion until they were in the final trees that circled where their company had set up camp. A horrific scene met their eyes.  
It seemed that Thorin and his company had not expected an attack and had been overpowered by the Orcs, their weapons laying useless in a pile to the side and Eliza immediatley felt grateful that she'd thought to bring her weapons with her. The dwarves themselves were all tied together looking murderously at the Orcs who were laughing at them.  
"Ster, you need to jump into another tree." Eliza instructed.  
"Why?" He asked, eyes still fixed on the monstrous Orcs who were surrounding the dwarves.  
"Because when I shoot arrows at them, they're going to work out where they're coming from and shoot back." Eliza told him, silently pulling her wooden bow from her shoulder. Sterling looked horrified at his sister's plan but as she pulled an arrow from her quiver, he swiftly lept into a neighbouring tree, concealing himself behind the leaves.  
The first arrow hit the neck of the Orc who was leaning over Ori and it fell to its knees. The Orcs looked at each other in shock and then another arrow hit one of the creatures in the eye. Another Orc went down, and another. Five had been killed by the time the Orcs realised they were under attack and the dwarves were looking around, wondering who it was killing the Orcs and whether they would kill them too.  
The Orcs were furious at the attack and picked up their own bows and arrows and began shooting at the tree in which Eliza had shot from but by the time they'd fired their arrows Eliza was already in the next tree and had managed to take down yet another Orc. A couple of trees later and the young girl was standing next to her brother.  
"Sterling, I'm going to lead the Orcs away. It's down to you to release the dwarves." She told him  
"B-but I can't do that! I'm useless!" He whispered back at his older sister.  
"You're not useless, Ster. I know you can do this." She said and with that she jumped to the next tree, sending more arrows down towards the angry Orcs who followed her deep into the woods, hopelessly shooting their own arrows into trees that she'd already left.  
Back at camp, Sterling slid down the tree as silent as a cat and creeped towards the dwarves. Unfortunately not all the Orcs had followed Eliza and there were three left behind. Sterling took a deep breath in, drew his borrowed sword and tried to remember everything the dwarves and his sister had taught him as he charged towards the Orcs.  
The first went down easily, it had not been expecting an attack from behind and the sword embedded itself in the creatures back. The next one was more prepared and Sterling desperately defended his own body as he attempted to slip past the Orcs seemingly impenetrable defence. Eventually though, through a stroke of luck, the Orc slipped slightly on a patch of wet grass and let his guard down for barely a second. Sterling seized the oppurtunity and buried his weapon deep into its neck.  
The final Orc seemed even better at fighting than the one before him, blocking every one of Sterlings attacks with ease and throwing in some violent attacks of his own which Sterling barely avoided. The boy put up a good fight but in the end there would only be one winner and soon enough Sterling found himself laying on the ground, the Orcs sword inches from his neck, the creature holding it grinning in triumph.  
"Nice try, little boy." The Orc spat, its sharp, rotting teeth visible as it opened its mouth in a vicious grin.  
The dwarves had watched the whole thing powerlessly. They had all watched in shock as young Sterling, certainly the worst fighter out of the whole company, had surged out of the woods, sword held high and effortlessly taken down an Orc. They'd watched in awe as the unlikely hero had taken down the second Orc despite the odds being against him. But now they stared in horror as the final Orc held its sword against his throat, revelling in the boy's final struggles.  
"Leave him alone!" Ori screamed at the Orc. The creature looked up at young, helpless Ori and laughed coldly.  
"And what are you going to do about it, dwarf?" It hissed.  
"I'll- I'll kill you!" Ori said, sounding a lot braver than he felt. This time the Orc laughed even louder, the menacing sound echoing around the clearing.  
"I don't think so, dwarf. In fact, when I've finished with this one I'll come over there and kill you." The creature said and Dwalin immediately leaned towards the smaller dwarf, trying to shield him with his body, glaring at the Orc. Suddenly an arrow flew from the edge of the woods and embedded itself in the vile creatures neck.  
"You won't be doing any killing tonight. Or any other night for that matter!" A voice said and the Orc let out one final choked breath before it fell forwards and moved no more. Eliza emerged from the woods, mud on her clothes and blood staining her skin and pulled her arrow from the dead creatures body, placing it back into her quiver. Then she walked over to the dwarves and untied them all. Sterling laid on the ground, looking at the dead bodies of the Orcs they had killed.  
"I killed them." He choked out at last. "I actually killed them." The dwarves smiled at the boy, expecting him to react like any normal dwarf child making his first kill- with joy and absolute pride. But although Sterling was part dwarf, he certainly didn't act like it. So instead of smiling, he curled up in a ball and began to sob.  
The dwarves had no idea how to react to this and they exchanged puzzled looks. Fili and Kili looked particuarly confused as not that long ago, when they had killed for the first time, they had jumped up in triumph, proud of having killed an evil creature. Sterling's reaction was completely alien to them.  
Eliza sat down next to her brother and wrapped her arms around him, holding him as he wept. Eliza understood. She had first killed a Warg when she was younger and she remembered looking at the beast in guilt. She had wondered whether it had a family that it would never return to, if it had dreams. Of course it was stupid, Wargs were known for being heartless creatures and Eliza knew that but she couldn't help the guilt that plagued her. She hadn't cried like her brother but Eliza could not remember when she had last cried.  
So she sat there, just holding her little brother as he cried for the lives he had took, telling him that it was ok.  
Help surprisingly came from young Ori who, although he didn't understand why Sterling felt bad for killing bloodthirsty creatures like Orcs, had realised that the idea of taking a life was shocking for someone as innocent as Sterling.  
"You had to do it, they would've killed you if you hadn't." Ori said, crouching down to look the youngest member of the company in the eye. "Don't feel guilty about it, I know you feel bad for killing someone but Orcs aren't people. All they do is kill. You haven't done anything wrong by killing vile creatures like them."  
Sterling looked up at Ori, sniffing loudly and he smiled faintly.  
"You're right. It was just... it was something I'm not used to. But I'll get used to it." He said determindly, leaving his sisters grip. Eliza smiled at him but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She didn't want her brother to have to get used to killing, she never wanted him to have to take lives. But he would have to in order to survive. Eliza reminded herself of this but she couldn't help thinking that with every life her brother took, the further away he got from the young, innocent boy she once knew.  
Thorin walked over to Eliza and Sterling with a stern expression on his face. Eliza prepared herself to be shouted at for being reckless or for Sterling to be called weak but these cruel words never came. Instead, Thorin smiled.  
"Thank you, both of you. You have saved the lives of everyone here, showing bravery, skill and intelligence. I owe you both my life." Eliza didn't know what to say as Thorin inclined his head to the siblings. She continued to open and close her mouth, unable to force any words out. Sterling luckily spoke up for the both of them.  
"You don't owe us anything. It is enough to be in your company." Sterling said, smiling up at the man he had looked up to throughout his childhood. Eliza looked at her brother wide-eyed, shocked at the extremely mature response her little brother had formulated when she had been unable to even force a single word out. Her little brother whom she'd sheltered for years was growing up far too quickly for her liking.  
"It is an absolute pleasure to have two great dwarves like you in my company." Thorin said and at this Eliza couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. Not only were they a part of Thorin Oakenshield's company, but now they were accepted and trusted by him. Dwarves. He'd actually called them dwarves! That was far more than Eliza could have ever dreamed of.  
Over the next few days Eliza went out of her way to spend time with every member of the company. Whereas before she wouldn't dare try to speak to the likes of Dwalin, who had the strong belief that Eliza had no place among them, now she chose to spoke to them and she found that after the Orc incident, they were all willing to speak to her.  
She learnt that Nori was a notorious criminal but with a soft spot for younger dwarves, especially his little brother; that Dwalin, although he seemed threatening, was actually one of the nicest people, as long as you stayed on his good side and she discovered that he had more than a little thing for the adorable young Ori; that Bifur who was only able to communicate in Khuzdul, was a surprisingly wise dwarf and due to the fact Eliza had learnt Khuzdul, she regularly had conversations with the often overlooked dwarf. But perhaps Eliza's favourite dwarf in the company was young Ori. After he stood up for her brother and comforted him after his first kill, Eliza made an effort to talk to the shy dwarf. He was extremely sweet and shared her two loves of drawing and books so they would sometimes sit for hours on end talking about books or showing each other drawings they had done.  
Eliza also talked to Fili and Kili a lot, as did Sterling. The four of them got along extremely well and while Fili and Kili talked about their adventures in the Blue Mountains, Eliza and Sterling told of places like their grandfather Radagast's house in the forest and the great halls of Rivendell.  
It was safe to say that the quartet were happy together and had become close friends over the couple of weeks they'd been travelling together and that was exactly how they wanted it to be. It was nice for Eliza and Sterling to have friends other than the three elves of Rivendell and as Eliza repeated the word friends in her head over and over again she couldn't help but grin.


	4. It's Mr Boggins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The company embark to Hobbiton in an attempt to collect their hobbit burglar. Not that he knows they're coming, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay guys I've just finished my a levels so it's been a bit frantic!

Eliza and Sterling had only visited the Shire a couple of times but it had not changed much since their last visit. Fresh, green fields spread for miles with all manner of crops growing in them. Small hobbit holes dotted the land with their brightly coloured doors standing out amongst the green.

The hobbits in the Shire were kind enough people but they were suspicious of outsiders and did not trust the likes of dwarves and elves so on their rare visits the Ironhands were treated with much suspicion and a general air of dislike. There were however a few hobbit families such as the Gamgees and Tooks who treated them warmly and showed them around the neighbouring woodlands. The kindness they showed to the dwarven family had stuck with Eliza and all in all she was fond of the Shire although she found the hobbits' way of life a bit too slow and boring for her liking.

The company had reached the Shire on the verge of the evening and the sky was just beginning to darken. The little company got inquisitive looks from young hobbits and challenging glares from the elders. The dwarves ignored the hobbits around them and continued on their way to a place Gandalf had told them was called 'Bag End'.

"I think we had better split up to try and find Mr Baggins' house." Thorin instructed and Eliza froze.

"I'm sorry, did you just say Baggins?" She asked and the leader of the company turned and looked at her questioningly.

"Yes."

"A Baggins is not going to want anything to do with an adventure, I can tell you that now." She said, shaking her head. Thorin turned back around, ignoring her comment, and addressed the company again.

"We should go in twos or threes. I shall go alone." He said and he began his search for the elusive hobbit hole without saying anything further.

"I'll go with Fili and Kili!" Sterling practically shouted before anyone else could open their mouths to speak and he quickly ran off with Fili and Kili trailing behind.

Eliza looked after her brother with slight shock. It seemed as though her brother was getting folder and closer to the brothers. Not that it bothered her really, it was nice to see her brother excited about something for a change. She wiped the expression of shock off her face and turned to smile at Ori.

"Come along, Ori. Looks like we're stuck together." Ori merely smiled back and the two began their search for the elusive home of Mr Baggins.

They had no idea what the house looked like, all they'd been told was that they'd know it when they saw it. They had passed Dori and Nori at one point and they hadn't had any luck finding the place either. Darkness fell on the Shire and the cold night air made Eliza shiver. She had all but given up on finding the damn house and was prepared to go and find an inn to stay in when suddenly Ori pointed out a hobbit hole with a dark green door engraved with a symbol that Eliza knew to be dwarvish.

"This must be the place!" Ori said excitedly, throwing open the gate and dashing up the makeshift steps leading to the door. Eliza followed, making sure to close the gate out of politeness. Ori knocked on the door and she hurried to stand next to him as the door was thrown open by a rather annoyed hobbit.

"Ori, at your service!" Ori said, bowing low and giving the accepted dwarf greeting.

"And Eliza, at your service." Eliza said, also bowing to the hobbit at the door.

"Yes, yes your friends are already here." He said hurriedly, stepping aside so they could see Dwalin, Balin, Fili, Kili and Sterling all sat at the table, devouring poor Mr Baggins' food.

"Oh they're not all here yet." Ori said, walking over and sitting himself down next to old Balin.

"There-there's more of you?" Mr Baggins said in horror and Eliza looked at him in surprise.

"Do you know why we're here, Mr Baggins?" Eliza asked politely.

"No!" Squeaked the hobbit and Eliza silently cursed. Clearly this hobbit was no burglar or if he was he'd not been told about the dwarves endeavour.

"I'm really sorry about this then." She said sincerely, resting her hand on the hobbit's shoulder.

"At least someone here has some manners." Mr Baggins said with a a slight smile. Eliza returnes his smile and walked over to where her brother was sat, eating rather delicately in comparison with the dwarves around him.

Some time later, the door opened once more and the remainder of the dwarves, except Thorin, literally tumbled in. Soon, almost the whole company was sat at the table, Eliza wedged between Sterling and Bifur with barely enough room to eat; laughing and joking around as dwarves do best. Mr Baggins stood at the end of the table, his arms crossed despite Eliza and Bofur's friendly attempts to get him to join the table.

"Bombur, catch!" Nori shouted as he threw some food across the table to Bombur who caught it all neatly in his mouth. The dwarves roared with laughter and Sterling hiccuped a laugh; the ale he was drinking beginning to go to his head.

There was another knock on the door and there stood Gandalf the Grey. Eliza spluttered when she saw him and gazed around in shock as the dwarves smiled merrily at him. After all, they had been so reluctant to accept her due to her being of wizard blood and here they were, cheering at the sight of another wizard. When Dwalin noticed her fuming he gently nudged her shoulder and explained the situation. It turned out that Gandalf had already convinced them he was a friend rather than a foe and he was coming along to help them reclaim the Lonely Mountain. Eliza accepted the explanation but was still annoyed that Thorin had treated her the way he had despite clearly knowing that some wizards can be trusted. However, that anger quickly faded away as Eliza drunk cup after cup of ale and lost herself in the dwarves' merry activities.

When it came to clearing the table or collecting more food, the dwarves had a very unique approach. Each of them had a specific position and they threw all manner of food and tableware at each other, not once dropping any. However, this didn't do much to calm down Mr Baggins who watched in horror as his precious dinnerware went flying through the air into Fili's hands who then chucked it into the kitchen. He ran between the dwarves, desperately trying to recover everything and shouting at anyone who threatened to damage his belongings.

"Now is that really necessary?"

"Put that DOWN!"

"That was my mothers, be CAREFUL with it!"

The dwarves as well as Sterling found the whole matter rather hilarious and even Eliza, although feeling sorry for the hobbit, couldn't help giggling at their antics. Soon enough the dwarves begun a song.

"Chip the glasses and crack the plates!  
Blunt the knives and bend the forks!  
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates-  
Smash the bottles and burn the corks!"

Poor Bilbo looked absolutely horrified at the song, even though it was a joke and despite their lack of manners, the dwarves wouldn't even think of destroying the hobbit's possessions. The song was so catchy that even Eliza joined in with the last verse although perhaps she only joined in because the hobbit's ale was stopping her from thinking straight. She did feel a little bit tipsy and the room was beginning to spin...

"Dump the crocks in a bowling bowl;  
Pound them up with a thumping pole;  
And when you've finished, if any are whole,  
Send them down the hall to roll!  
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!  
So carefully! Carefully with the plates!"

The song finished with a roar of laughter from Bilbo's visitors. There was a knock on the door and it suddenly fell silent, plates no longer being chucked into the air. Everyone suddenly realised that Thorin must have arrived.

"He is here." Gandalf whispered and Bilbo walked to the door, a little nervous about who or what was able to make the dwarves fall silent so suddenly. The door was opened and there stood Thorin Oakenshield.

"Sorry I'm late. I got lost, twice." Thorin said, striding into the house and Eliza had to cover her mouth behind her ale to hide the giggle that threatened to escape. The idea of their leader, the majestic Thorin Oakenshield, getting lost in the Shire was a strange image. She was certain that he would not have asked for directions and instead would've stomped around angrily, generating furious looks from the Shire folk.

"It's good to see you, Thorin." Balin said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the dwarves and soon everyone was talking again, although slightly quieter than they had been before. Thorin looked around and his eyes fell on Bilbo Baggins.

"So," he said, with a smirk playing on his lips "This is the burglar. Looks more of a grocer than a burglar." The rest of the company let out a roar of laughter and it seemed everyone but Eliza and Bilbo had found the joke absolutely hilarious. Even Gandalf had let out a chortle but Eliza noticed that when Thorin's back was turned, the smile fell from Gandalf's face and he looked apologetically at Bilbo who looked positively furious.

Indeed, Mr Baggins was furious. This stranger had waltzed into his house without so much as a 'good evening' or a 'nice to meet you'. At least the others who had invaded his house at least had the decency to introduce themselves but this- this brute, clearly thought himself better than everyone else and if there was one thing that angered Bilbo Baggins more than anything else, it was big-headed people. And then, the dwarf had the cheek to insult him when he had so graciously allowed him into his home! Bilbo hated confrontation but in this particular case, he refused to let this dwarf get away with it. He straightened his back and strode over to where the newest addition had taken a seat and he stood there bristling like an angry cat.

Eliza had noticed Bilbo's angry expression and she silently prayed that the hobbit wouldn't be stupid enough to shout at Thorin. However, when he cleared his throat and tapped the dwarf on his heavily armed shoulder, she realised that the hobbit was intent on letting Thorin know exactly what he thought of his rude, but typical of the dwarven prince, entrance.

"Excuse me!" Bilbo said loudly over the dwarves chatter. Everyone fell silent and turned their attention to the fuming hobbit.

"I would like to know exactly why you have all, very rudely may I add, entered my house and completely destroyed my food supplies! I would especially like to know why you," he pointed at Thorin now "believe yourself to be so... so special that you can disrespect me!" The dwarves were looking wide eyed at the hobbit and Thorin raised his eyebrows.

"And how exactly have I disrespected you, halfling?" He thundered and Bilbo looked outraged.

"How- how have you disrespected me?! Well for starters you had the complete cheek to storm into my house without so much as a hello directed towards me. Then you completely ignore me, even though it is my house you and your friends have so rudely invaded! Why, the only thing you have said to me at all since your entrance was a one sentence insult! Even now, you don't even have the decency to call me by my name so I will not call you by yours, you selfish... BRUTE!" The other dwarves gaped at Bilbo and even the hobbit himself was shocked at his Tookish outburst.

"Do you know who I am?" Thorin snarled

"What?" Bilbo looked at the dwarf with panic etched on his features. He hadn't meant to call him a brute to his face. Now he was in for it.

"I said. Do. You. Know. Who. I. Am." The dwarf thundered, seperating each individual word and his company shrunk away from the authority in his tone.

"No." Squeaked Bilbo.

"My name is Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain, son of Thrór. I am the heir to the throne of Erebor. I am the leader of my people. I am anything but selfish. I am royalty and I will call you what I please, halfling." Thorin told Bilbo before turning his back on the shaking hobbit. Despite his anger at having been called a selfish brute, Thorin's faith in Gandalf had been partly restored. Even though then hobbits courage had dissapeared now, it had definitely been there. Yes, there was certainly more to the halfling than met the eye. Perhaps he wouldn't be such a useless addition to the company. There was something about him that made Thorin curious and intrigued about him.

"You all know what we're here to discuss. Years ago, the kingdom of Erebor was stolen from us by that great worm, Smaug." Thorin repeated the story of the loss of Erebor, and spoke of the mission to gain it back. Obviously the company already knew this, Thorin was merely repeating it for the benefit of Bilbo who listened with rapt attention, like a child listening to a fairy tale.

"This has been in my possession for some time." Gandalf finally spoke after Thorin had finished his tale and everyone at the table turned to look as the wizard withdrew a key from his robes. "A key to Erebor, but not the main key."

"If there's a key, there must be a door... THERE'S ANOTHER WAY IN!" Kili shouted in realisation and whilst Fili turned to look at him in pride, the rest of the company rolled their eyes at Kili's obvious statement.

"Indeed there is. If you can find the other entrance, perhaps you have a chance of defeating the dragon." Gandalf told them and for the first time that evening, a smile found its way onto Thorin Oakenshield's face. It didn't stay there long though, as Bilbo decided to speak up.

"Hang on, you're planning to kill a dragon?" He said in pure disbelief

"Yes, halfling. What is wrong with that?" Thorin asked in annoyance, as though Bilbo were some irritating fly that kept buzzing around his head.

"Well no offence but that's not really going to happen is it? I mean, come on, there's only 16 of you and you don't seem to be the best fighters in the world." Bilbo said, looking round his table at the unlikely group of people.

At first the company were angered by Bilbo's statement but as they looked around, the harsh reality of his words sunk in. After all, they weren't the best fighters, not by any stretch of the imagination, nor where there many of them. They looked around at Oin, who was so deaf he could barely hear people talking let alone hear an enemy sneaking up on him. Their gaze fell on Ori who preferred to write or draw rather than fight and whose weapon of choice was a handcrafted slingshot. They stared at Sterling who they had all seen break down when he had killed an Orc. Bilbo was right, what kind of chance did they have really?

Not to be put down by the hobbits words, Fili piped up.

"We might not be the best fighters but we're determined!" He said.

"Yeah, and we stick together. Think of what we've already got through." Eliza added, smiling at the dwarves around her.

"And we have the white wizard, that's got to count for something!" Kili chipped in.

"He's right! Gandalf will have killed tonnes of dragons in his time!" Ori shouted, standing up from between Dwalin and Dori. Gandalf choked on his pipe at this comment. The smile had returned to Thorin's face and he addressed his loyal companions.

"No, we aren't the best. But I'd rather have every dwarf here than the best armies in all of middle earth because you all came to help when I asked. I could not ask for better companions." He praised them and everyone toasted to that (all except Sterling who Eliza had decided had drunk enough ale for one night).

"So, Mr Baggins, are you going to join us?" Eliza asked the hobbit who turned to face her startled.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Are you joining us on our quest to regain Erebor. That's why we're here, to ask you to be our burglar on the journey." She clarified for Bilbo who stared back in a mix of shock and horror.

"Me? Go on an adventure?"

"Yes, Mr Boggins. An adventure!" Kili grinned at the hobbit.

"We've got the contract here for you to sign." Balin told him, taking the contract out of his pocket and passing it to the hobbit who snatched it and began to read, his nose practically touching the parchment. He mumbled as he read.

"The journey includes food, transport etc... Funeral arrangements? Death by lacerations, starvation... INCINERATION?!" Bilbo looked up at them in complete shock and many of the dwarves were beginning to doubt whether or not Bilbo Baggins was a real burglar.

"Aye laddy. Smaug will burn the skin off yer in a blink o' the eye." Bofur told him

"No, no I can't do this." Bilbo muttered

"It's easy lad. Just think furnace with wings. Searing pain and then poof! Yer nothin' more than a pile o' ash." Bofur added, thinking he was being helpful which, obviously, he wasn't.

"Are you ok, Mr Baggins?" Eliza asked, noticing that the hobbit looked quite pale.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." He froze and lifted his head "Nope." Was the last thing he said before his legs gave way and he collapsed to the floor.

"Is he alright?" Ori asked, concerned for the wellbeing of their host who was lying on the floor, completely still.

"He'll be fine, Mr Ori. We just need to sit him in a chair." Gandalf instructed and he watched in slight amusement as Nori and Oin carried the hobbit onto a patchwork chair. When Bilbo woke up, the wizard was going to have a lot of convincing to do...

* * *

The company left Mr Baggins house a few hours later, their bellies full but still with the same number of members they went in with. When Bilbo had finally woken up Gandalf had spoken to him about his brave Took ancestors and had argued with the middle aged hobbit that he couldn't spend his whole life in Bag End doing nothing useful with his life. However, despite all Gandalf's attempts to convince Bilbo to join the company, the hobbit was having none of it and his answer was still a firm no.

Thorin and the majority of his company were happy to accept this as his final answer but Gandalf had convinced them to stay in the Green Dragon inn overnight and to depart in the morning. He had agreed that if Bilbo was not there by that time then he was a lost cause and they would set off on their journey without him. There were mixed opinions over whether or not the hobbit would join them or not and so that night, in the inn the group made bets on whether or not he would join them or not. In the end those who said he would join were Sterling, Eliza, Gandalf, Kili, Ori and, to many people's surprise, Nori. Everyone else bet on him not joining them and although Thorin refused to participate in the bet, it was clear he thought the hobbit would never show.

In the early hours of the morning the company departed into their separate rooms, all wondering what the morning light would bring and more specifically whether it would bring them their hobbit burglar...


	5. We're going on an adventure!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The company officially set out on their quest with their hobbit burglar in tow

The morning sun crept through the blinds in Eliza's room, tendrils of light reaching into every corner of the small room. Her eyelids fluttered open and she let out a loud yawn. Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, she stretched before reaching down to pull on her travelling clothes. She picked up her bow and quiver, slung them over her back and tucked her sword into its sheath at her waist.

After collecting all her belongings, she flung open the door to her room and walked out into the corridor. She began to walk briskly down the crooked staircase which was a big mistake. She lost her footing on one of the last steps, let out a small yelp and tumbled face first onto the ground.

Raucous laughter from across the room told her that her companions had seen the whole thing and when she pushed her hair aside and looked up at the company, she saw them all laughing hysterically at her clumsiness. She pulled herself back onto her feet and stomped over to the dwarves and her brother who, to her annoyance, was also laughing at her. She snapped something in Khuzdul that made Ori blush and Dwalin chuckle.

"Fiesty this mornin' aren't yer?!" Dwalin said through his laughter and Eliza just scowled at him and began to devour the food in front of her.

"Someone's clearly not a morning person." Kili said with a grin and Eliza merely gave him a look which quite clearly said 'no-shit'.

"I see you didn't bother fixing the birds nest atop your head then." Fili commented, ruffling Eliza's messy hair. She stopped eating.

"I suggest you keep your dwarven hands off of me." She snapped at him but he just smirked back.

"Why should I?" He asked cheekily and Eliza smiled back sweetly.

"Do you intend to have children in the future?"

"Perhaps."

"Then you should keep your hands to yourself." Realising what she meant, the rest of the company laughed and Fili turned ever so slightly red and Eliza noticed he moved his hands to his lap, well away from her.

"Its time for us to leave. Our hobbit has not joined us so we must continue without him." Thorin instructed and those who had bet on Bilbo not turning up cheered and looked expectantly at the others, awaiting their payment for last nights bet. Sterling shook his head at Fili's outsretched hand.

"There's still time for him to join us." He said with certainty.

* * *

Sterling was right. They rode off from the inn, singing merrily and exchanging stories. No sooner had they entered the woodlands surrounding the Shire did they hear a small voice in the distance. They turned around to see Bilbo Baggins running full pelt towards them, arms outstretched, a massive backpack on his back and the contract grasped firmly in his left hand. Eliza could've sworn she saw Thorin smile slightly at the sight of him.

The hobbit came to a halt beside Balin's pony, wheezing and holding the parchment out to Balin who took it with a smile.

"Welcome to the company of Thorin Oakenshield, Mr Baggins." He said to the hobbit and rode off.

"Give him a pony." Was all Thorin said. This caused Bilbo to panic slightly.

"A- a pony? Oh no that's not at all necessary! I'll be perfectly alright walking!" He insisted but Dori and Nori rode on either side of him and yanked him onto a pony that went by the name of Myrtle. He looked rather uncomfortable by this and Eliza couldn't help but giggle at his expression as he tried to guide the pony along the path. She steered her pony alongside Fili and grinned at him.

"I do believe you owe me some money." She said holding her hand out. He rolled his eyes at her before tossing a bag of coins into her waiting hand.

"We better reclaim this mountain, I've got barely any money left now." He grumbled and Eliza merely laughed before moving along the line of dwarves so that she was positioned next to Bilbo and Gandalf.

"What's all this money being exchanged for?" Bilbo asked curioisly as Fili reluctantly passed yet another pouch of coins to his younger brother.

"We made bets on whether or not you'd show up this morning." Eliza explained.

"Oh really?" Bilbo seemed slightly annoyed as he looked back and saw most of the company giving their money away rather than gaining it.

"Don't worry, Mr Baggins. I knew you'd show up!" Eliza said with a wide grin, jingling the coins in her pocket to reiterate her point. The hobbit turned back to give her a genuine smile.

"Thank you."

* * *

A few miles down the twisting pathway the heavens opened and the company were soon drenched to the skin, their hair plastered to their faces, shivering because of the cold.

"Can't you do something about this rain, Gandalf?" Dwalin complained as he took off his cloak to wrap around skinny Ori who was shaking so violently he looked in danger of falling off his pony.

"The rain will stop when it has finished! If you wish to stop it then you will have to find yourself another wizard." He replied in slight annoyance. Every set of eyes in the company fell on Eliza.

"No." She said simply

"Why not, 'Liza? It's completely freezing!" Fili complained.

"Firstly, DON'T call me 'Liza. Secondly, if I tried I would probably end up setting a tree on fire."

"At least that would warm us up." Grumbled Kili from beside his brother. Eliza turned on him in scorn.

"Oh fine, would you like me to try then?" She snapped

"Um...yeah!"

"Well don't come complaining to me when you're on fire!" She turned to Gandalf who was watching her with concern, knowing how dangerously short her temper was.

"Give me your staff, Gandalf!" She hissed at the wizard.

"Eliza-" he began

"GIVE ME THE ST-AAH!" Eliza was cut off by a sharp stabbing pain in her side and she clutched her body, doubling over on the horse. Gandalf rushed to her side.

"Eliza you need to calm down." He said, slight worry etched into his voice. After all, he was perfectly aware of the danger Eliza posed if she got too angry...

"What the bloody hell is happening?" Kili asked with a slight tone of annoyance.

"If you value your safety, Master Kili, I would keep your mouth shut!" Gandalf told the careless dwarf without looking at him.

"Is that a threat?" Fili asked through gritted teeth, protective of his younger brother.

"No, it was a warning!" Gandalf said, turning to look straight at the young dwarves. There was no menace, no anger, nothing in the old man's expression. All they could see was a slight panic in his eyes. It was enough for the two dwarves to shut up and instead silently worry about what could've initiated such a reaction from the great wizard. After they had shut their mouths, Gandalf turned his attention back to Eliza who had her fists clenched and her eyes screwed up. She was shaking and Bilbo was looking at her in concern. In fact the whole company had stopped moving and were all watching the girl cautiously, none of them daring to speak.

"Eliza you will be fine, deep breaths." Gandalf reassured her, but he did not dare touch her for fear of angering her further.

"I feel better... It's not quite gone though." She said slowly, her breath ragged, her body still shuddering. After what felt like hours but was only really a matter of minutes, Eliza finally raised her head, her hands still shaking slightly but all together looking far better.

"I'm okay." She addressed the company with a shaky smile. The others looked back uncertainly. Kili went to open his mouth but Gandalf cut him off.

"I think you ought to refrain from speaking to Miss Ironhand until she has fully recovered, Master Kili." Gandalf said, not at all unkindly and for once Kili did exactly as he was told.

"Care to explain what just happened?" Thorin's voice boomed from further down the group.

"Why would it be of your concern? You are not obliged to know every personal detail about me." Eliza retorted.

"I believe it is of my concern if it endangers the lives of the company!" Thorin argued back, determined to find out what had happened. Eliza opened her mouth to talk but froze. He had a point. If keeping this secret endangered the lives of those around her, she was being selfish by keeping it to herself. How would she feel if her friends died as a result of her selfish actions? She couldn't bear it if innocent Ori, kind Bifur, or even the troublesome Kili and Fili, died because of her, however annoying they were at times.

"Well should the need arise, we will tell you then!" Piped up Sterling who had been quiet for most of the day. Thorin turned to look at him.

"You know?"

"Of course I do, she's my sister! And I say that as long as she is able to control the anger, you don't need to know what happens if she doesn't. Should she be unable to control it, then and only then will we tell you what happens. Because those are the only circumstances under which you need to know!" Sterling finished and Eliza blinked at him. Here was yet another speech coming from her brother's mouth that sounded far too grown up. This quest was forcing her brother to grow up far quicker than Eliza would like.

Thorin paused, considering the youngest member of the company's words. The young one had a point and despite his desperate curiosity that thirsted for knowledge of what had happened, he had to respect Eliza's privacy. He nodded.

"It is decided. If the need arises, one of you will tell us. But only if we must know. No one is to pester her for information- that is an order!" He emphasised the last bit and looked at his nephews who looked up innocently. Thorin narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I mean it you two." He said seriously and Fili and Kili nodded in response, both of them still refusing to speak.

"You guys can talk again you know, I've calmed down." Eliza told them, a small smile on her lips.

"Oh thank goodness!" Kili cried

"Our gracious lady has granted us the power of speech once more!" Fili said over dramatically and the two jumped off their horses to bow deeply to Eliza who rolled her eyes whilst turning very slightly pink.

"Don't push it, you two." Eliza said, hiding her face behind her tangled hair so they didn't see the blush creeping up her cheeks. Of course, they both saw it but decided not to comment for fear of angering her again. Instead they mounted their ponies again and the company set off in search of a place to sleep for the evening.

On the way, Bilbo decided to ask some questions in order to diffuse the wave of tension that was clearly over the wizard.

"So, Gandalf, there are other wizards?" He asked inquisitively.

"Indeed there are, Mr Baggins. 5 to be precise. Saruman the white is the greatest if our order, his power is greater than all of us and he is the one we consult." Gandalf answered

"Unfortunately..." Eliza muttered and Gandalf sighed.

"I can never understand what you don't like about Saruman." Gandalf said, shaking his head at the young girl.

"I just don't trust him."

"He's never done anything wrong. What makes you think that he's untrustworthy?" Gandalf inquired but Eliza merely shrugged.

"I don't know, I just get a bad feeling whenever I see him..." Eliza muttered and Bilbo quickly asked another question.

"So, erm, who are the other wizards?"

"Oh, well there are the two blue wizards but... My goodness I can't for the life of me remember their names! Anyway, then there's Radagast the brown and me." Gandalf concluded quite quickly, ashamed that he had forgotten the wizards' names.

"So Radagast... Is he a great wizard or is he more like you?" Bilbo asked and Eliza couldn't help but let out a small giggle at the comment. Gandalf looked at Bilbo in a mix of shock and disgust and Eliza could've sworn she heard Fili and Kili chuckling from behind her.

"Well, Mr Baggins, I think he is a very great wizard, if a little strange." Gandalf said, speaking politely about Radagast out of both respect for the peculiar wizard and for his granddaughter who was currently riding next to him.

"He is a brilliant wizard!" Eliza piped up, a broad grin stretching across her face at the mention of her grandfather. "He is perhaps a bit strange because he prefers the company of animals to people but he is a truly wonderful wizard. He's probably the best healer in Middle-Earth as well!"

Bilbo smiled at Eliza who was clearly very proud of her grandfather and he didn't dare mention how he considered it highly unsocial to prefer the company of animals to people nor did he challenge the notion that he was the best healer in Middle-Earth. After all, he would hate to be the one to make Eliza Ironhand completely lose her temper...

* * *

The company decided to rest on reasonably small outcrop of rock and immediately Fili and Kili started a fire so they would have food and warmth for the night. Thankfully the rain had stopped and so they had no problems starting it up and soon enough there was a blazing source of warmth for the whole company and they were all gathered around it, many of them with their cloaks right next to the flame in an attempt to dry them. Bombur cooked a delicious but simple meal that everyone had enjoyed and they had sung and exchanged stories and everyone was in high spirits after their rough day.

Eventually, when they were finished eating, they all found a place to sleep and laid down their coats so that they wouldn't have to sleep on the cold, hard ground. Just as Eliza was about to succumb to sleep, an ear-piercing shriek rang through the air and her eyes snapped open. It seemed the same had happened to Bilbo as he was sitting upright, eyes wide, looking around for the source of the terrible noise.

"What was that?" He whispered, turning to face Fili and Kili who were still awake and leaning casually against the rock face as though nothing had happened.

"Orcs." Fili answered nonchalantly without looking at Bilbo.

"Orcs?" Bilbo repeated, concern written plainly across his face.

"Aye. They come at night, when everyone's sleeping . There's never any noise, just lots of blood." Kili said with a serious expression on his face and poor Bilbo looked completely terrified by this and he looked worryingly out across the trees below them. As he turned away, Kili let out a small snort and he and Fili began to chuckle. Eliza let out a deep sigh and turned to face the troublesome two.

"Can you guys cut it out? Seriously, there's no need to frighten him anymore than necessary." She whispered, hoping that the hobbit would not hear her. If he did, he showed no sign of it and continued to stare out into the distance. Fili and Kili merely grinned at her and Eliza guessed that this was just what they were like all the time and that they enjoyed scaring others with their gruesome tales. Eliza rolled her eyes at them and shuffled around Sterling, who was fast asleep, so that she was right next to Bilbo.

"Don't worry about it Mr Baggins, they're only fooling around. You needn't worry about Orcs killing you in your sleep, we have Mr Balin on watch and he'll let us know if anything happens." Eliza told the hobbit with a small smile and when Bilbo turned to face her, he had a weak smile on his own face.

"Alright." He said

"Yeah, Kili and Fili were just having some fun." Eliza told him and at this Thorin spoke up.

"There is nothing fun about Orcs." He snapped and his nephews, who were still chuckling slightly at their prank on Bilbo, suddenly shut up and looked up at their uncle with slightly scared expressions.

"Sorry Uncle." Kili mumbled

"We were just messing around." Fili continued, his eyes fixed on the ground.

"You two know nothing of the world." Thorin growled at them, before getting up and striding over to the edge of the outcrop and gazing out at the land below.

"Don't take it too hard, lads. You know Thorin has more reason than most to hate Orcs." Balin said softly from the rock he was sitting on.

"Erm, if you don't mind me asking... Why does he have more reason to hate Orcs?" Bilbo asked the older dwarf inquisitively.

"Well laddie, it all started when we lost Erebor. The Durin's dwarves were left homeless and so our leader, Thror, decided to take us to Moria. I was there, as was Thorin and Eliza's grandfather too- Nár Ironhand. When we reached Moria, we found the Orcs had beaten us there and had claimed it as their own."

Balin re-told the story of the battle for Moria and everyone who was conscious sat up and listened to the tale even though most of them had heard it a hundred times before. Somehow, Eliza found it even more exciting to listen to when Balin told it as it seemed he had a gift in telling stories and everyone was transfixed by his story, hanging on his every word. Bilbo, who had never heard the tale before, was listening avidly and picturing the scene. When he heard of Azog his eyes widened and he shuffled forward, like a small child desperate to find out how the fairy-tale ended.

"And I thought to myself then. There was one I could follow, there was one I could call King." Balin finished his tale and those who had been listening turned to look at Thorin, the hero of the tale, as he turned back from the edge and looked at his loyal companions. Bilbo was looking at Thorin in a brand new light. Of course he had thought him to be powerful from the very moment he began the adventure but after hearing the story he had a profound respect for the dwarven king who had seen the death of his own grandfather and who had slaughtered the evil Orc and led his people to victory. Bilbo was now more willing than ever before to help Thorin reclaim Erebor and he was now more proud than he'd ever been in his whole life to be in the company of such a strong leader as Thorin Oakenshield.

Thorin himself looked upon his company with a joy in his heart. They were the best companions he could ask for, loyal and determined and he knew that they would follow him no matter what their fate at the end of the journey. There were no better people that he could ask for and with this thought in his head, he gave them all a rare smile as they inclined their heads slightly out of respect for their leader.

"You should all go to sleep, we should be well rested for the morning." He told them and they all obliged, Eliza clambering back to her sleeping place and closing her eyes. She stayed awake for a little longer, trying to hear what Thorin was saying to Balin but before long exhaustion overcame her and she fell into a deep sleep.


	6. Caught in a sack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The company encounters the trolls and they require a bit of assistance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a slightly shorter chapter but as I'm off to university next weekend I should be able to write more as I'll have my laptop out all the time and only have three days of lectures. There's also slight OC shipping in here but nothing major

The next day was rather uneventful. The company had set off at first light and had been travelling all day through both rain and sun. Since collecting their burglar from the Shire they had not run into any trouble and the Orc calls last night had been forgotten by almost everyone. Bilbo had mostly forgotten about the blood-curdling screech but it was still there at the back of his head and the hobbit knew that the worry associated with it would soon resurface, most likely when he was trying to settle down that evening.

"We stop here for the night!" Announced Thorin as they entered a small clearing with what had once been some kind of house but was now nothing more than a broken down shack. None the less, it would provide the company with a relative amount of shelter from the weather. However, after entering the clearing, a worried look appeared on Gandalf's face.

"I do not think it wise to stop here." He informed the group.

"And why not? There is shelter from the weather and it’s getting late, we need to stop and recover our energy.” Thorin replied in slight annoyance at the wizard’s statement.

“I get a bad feeling from this place.” Gandalf stared around the clearing, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the recently destroyed home in front of them and Thorin rolled his eyes.

“Well then, what do you suggest we do?” 

“You know what my suggestion is. You are just too stuborn to accept it.” Gandalf replied, looking down at the dwarven king. At this comment, Thorin bristled, pulling himself up to his full height.

“No.” Was his simple answer to Gandalf’s unspoken suggestion.

“Why not? The elves can help us! You have a map that you cannot read and you are refusing to visit one of the few people who can read it!” Gandalf retorted, desperately trying to change Thorin’s answer. However, he knew it was pointless due to the absolute stubbornness of dwarves. Unsurprisingly, the dwarven king shook his head at the wizard and Gandalf shook all hopes of changing his mind out of his head.

“I refuse to seek help from them. They cannot be trusted!”

“The elves would help! You need to let go of your past grudges!” Gandalf argued.

“When Erebor was in flames, did the elves come to help? No, they watched as it burned. They watched my people suffer and die. No help came from the elves that day, and no help has come any day since. They cannot be trusted and I refuse to beg on their doorstep. We are NOT going to see the elves and that is final!” Thorin finished and he turned his back on the wizard.

“Save me from the stubbornness of dwarves.” Gandalf muttered as he turned around and stormed off.

“Hang on, where are you going?” Bilbo asked with concern as the wizard went past him.

“To seek the company of the only one around here who has any sense!” The wizard replied.

“And who’s that?” He asked to Gandalf’s retreating figure.

"Myself, Master Baggins!" He shouted back and he disappeared back into the trees surrounding the clearing. Bilbo gazed after him and Eliza got the feeling that he would rather have gone with the wizard. She smiled at him reassuringly.

"He'll come back in his own time, Mr Baggins." She told him but her statement did little to relieve the worry building up in Bilbo now that the wizard had left them for the hobbit felt far safer in the presence of Gandalf the Grey.

"Bombur! Start cooking." Thorin ordered sharply and it was clear that Gandalf's talk of elves had put their leader in a bad mood once again. Bombur nodded and strode over to make a fire and prepare a meal. Eliza slowly followed him and once the fire was lit she dumped her bag onto the floor and cleared her throat.

"Would you like any help, Bombur?" She asked the large dwarf kindly. He looked up at her in surprise.

"Oh, erm, yes please. If you're not too busy, of course!" He said, looking completely shocked at her offer of assistance.

"Not at all! I have absolutely nothing to do so I figured you might want some help."

"It would be greatly appreciated, Miss Ironhand."

"Call me Eliza." She said with a smile. Eliza spent most of the evening helping Bombur prepare dinner. She cut up ingredients, stirred the food in the saucepan and kept the fire topped up. When the food was ready Bombur thanked her greatly for her help and asked her politely to take two bowls of the broth they had cooked down to Fili and Kili who had been instructed to look after the ponies. However, when she tried to carry both of the bowls as well as her own, which had an extremely generous amount of food in, she had slopped some of the liquid onto the floor. As a result, Bilbo had politely agreed to help her carry the bowls to the two brothers. 

When they reached them, they were surprised to find them completely silent for once, staring over a fallen tree trunk into the distance.

"What's the matter?" Bilbo asked, looking in confusion at the pair.

"We were told to watch the ponies but we have encountered a slight problem." Kili replied without turning to look at the new arrivals.

"We had 17. Now there’s 14." Fili finished and Eliza looked up to see that there were indeed 3 less ponies than there had been a few minutes ago. She also noticed that many of the trees had been bent back and some had fallen over which told her that whatever had taken the ponies was something big...

"Well someone should go investigate and try and get them back!" Bilbo said and Fili and Kili exchanged a look.

"That's what we were thinking."

"And as our burglar we thought you should do it."

"What?!" Bilbo almost shouted, whipping his head round to look at the duo in horror.

"You'll be fine, Mr Boggins! We'll be right behind you!" Kili encouraged him and the hobbit climbed over the tree and began to wander off to where the warm glow of a fire could be seen.

"Now if you get into trouble, hoot once like a brown owl and twice like a barn owl!" Fili instructed as the hobbit vanished from their sight, muttering under his breath.

"Are you two insane? He could die!" Eliza hissed at Fili and Kili.

"Well why did you let him go then?" Fili asked, looking slightly confused.

"I don't know! But I don't think it was a good idea."

"He'll be fine! He's so light on his feet that I doubt he'll even be noticed by whatever’s over there. Besides if he doesn't come back soon, we'll go get him!" Kili replied, surprisingly cheery given that their ponies had just been stolen and they had probably sent Bilbo to his doom...

"Anyway, how on earth did you two not notice something massive coming over and stealing THREE ponies and breaking trees in the process?!" Eliza asked the question that had been baffling her since she'd seen the damage caused to the trees. To her surprise, the two blushed and looked at the ground, refusing to meet her eyes. Her eyes widened- they had to have been doing something pretty bad for them to react in that way.

"Okay, we'll tell you what we were doing." Fili said, looking up but still not looking Eliza in the eye. Kili nudged his brother and gave him a look which quite plainly said 'don't-you-dare'.

"Go on then."

"We'll tell you if you tell us the secret you're keeping from the company." Fili bargained and Eliza let out a short laugh.

"Nice try but that's not going to happen!" She said and Fili shrugged. Kili, meanwhile, had turned his attention to where Bilbo had wandered off to.

"He hasn't come back yet." He noted "Do you think he's got caught?"

"Perhaps we should go check on him?" Eliza suggested and the other two nodded. As silently as possible, the trio snuck through the trees until the glowing light of the fire was right in front of them. They found a small clearing and standing in it were 3 massive, grotesque trolls and clasped in one huge hand was none other than Bilbo Baggins, covered in troll snot and looking terrified.

"We've got to help him!" Kili shouted, his impulsive nature kicking in as he ran out to face the trolls despite his brother's desperate attempt to stop him.

"I'll go get Thorin." Eliza told Fili as she dashed back as quickly as she could to the camp where the other dwarves were happily eating, completely oblivious to the disaster around the corner. As Eliza came running towards them they looked at her in shock.

"What's the matter, Elle?" Sterling asked, concern etched in his tone. Eliza took in a deep breath before speaking.

"Bilbo'sbeencaughtbytrollsandFiliandKiliranouttohelpandnowthey'reintrouble!" She burst out and while all the dwarves looked at her in confusion Sterling jumped up.

"What did you say?" Dori asked her, confused by her rushed speech and by Sterling's horrified expression.

"Bilbo's been captured by trolls! And now Fili and Kili are in trouble too!" Sterling explained to the rest of the company. At his words they all jumped up, grabbing their weapons.

"Where are they?" Thorin asked Eliza and she motioned for them to follow her. The group set off running, desperate to reach the trolls before they had chance to do any damage to Fili or Kili or Bilbo. When they reached the clearing, Eliza crouched down in the undergrowth, waiting for a good moment to attack the trolls so they could get in, save their friends and get out as quickly as possible. However, as soon as Thorin had seen Fili and Kili, swords raised high above their heads, he immediately charged the trolls and was obediently followed by the other dwarves and Sterling.

"Idiots." Eliza muttered as the company began to battle the trolls. There was no chance of them winning, their swords would feel like mere pin-pricks to the great trolls and soon enough the whole company would be in trouble. To her surprise, the dwarves were fending off the fearsome trolls better than expected and at some points it seemed as though they may even overpower them. However, Eliza knew it was all over when two of the trolls held Bilbo between them, threatening to tear his limbs off. Despite Thorin's dislike of the hobbit, he would not stand and watch him torn to pieces in front of him so, glaring up at the trolls as he did so, he dropped his sword on the ground, the rest of his company following suit until even Ori, who had been reluctant to give up his weapon, threw his slingshot on the grassy floor in anger. In a matter of minutes, the dwarves found themselves either tied up in sacks or attatched to a spit-roast, spinning slowly around the blazing fire.

"Looks like it's down to me to get them out of trouble." Eliza muttered, making her way silently through the trees to find a better spot to attack from. She clambered up a tree that leaned slightly over the clearing and positioned herself towards the edge, still concealed by the leaves. Unfortunately, the tree was damp after the rain of the last few days and so when Eliza’s foot came into contact with a particularly large, wet leaf on the branch, she lost her footing and with a shriek she tumbled from the tree.

She hit the ground with a thud and silently thanked any higher being that the tree had not been too high. Her thankfulness didn't last for long as a giant hand scooped her round the middle and held her up to eye-level.

"Well, well, well. What've we got 'ere then?" The beast asked and Eliza wriggled around, in a futile attempt to escape the trolls constricting grasp.

"Must be somethin' to do with this lot!" Another troll piped up, pointing a stubby finger at the dwarves who were huddled together in sacks. Ori cowered slightly under the creature's gaze causing his brothers, and surprisingly Dwalin, to growl lowly at the troll.

"Who cares, jus' tie 'er up with 'em." The most gruesome of the lot instructed and the one holding Eliza grunted in response, ambling over to the dwarves.

"We've not got any more bags!" He told the other trolls, looking around for another sack to put her in.

"Don' worry 'bout it. Jus' put 'er in with one of the others." Eliza grimaced as the troll holding her clenched his fists slightly, forcing the air out of her lungs. He reached down and picked up the dwarf closest to him which, to Eliza's embarrassment, happened to be Fili.

"Oh you don't need to do that!" She said, laughing nervously. "Just leave me next to them, I swear I won't run off!" Unfortunately, the trolls weren't to be fooled and the one grasping her merely grunted before picking up Fili's bag and shoving her in.

It wasn't the fact that it was specifically Fili she was stuck in the bag with, it was just that she'd rather not be rammed in a bag with someone she'd met a matter of weeks ago. Not to mention the fact that the bags were quite small and Eliza found herself a bit too close to Fili for comfort causing her face to flame up. To make matters even worse the troll had shoved her in so she was actually laying on top of the dwarf, her face inches away from his grinning face. She tried shuffling around in the bag so they'd at least be lying side by side rather than in this immensely awkward situation. Eliza did wish he would stop smiling, it was making the whole situation even worse and she didn't seem to find it very amusing.

"What are you grinning about? Funnily enough this isn't a situation to be laughing about" She hissed at him.

"Nothing, I've only just realised how beautiful your eyes are." He said with a cheeky grin and she rolled her eyes.

"Is now really the time, Fili?" She snapped and Fili shrugged, their close situation causing Eliza to move even closer to the dwarfs face much to her annoyance. Eliza shifted her leg and kicked him in the shin. It was a pitiful kick but was the best she could do given the circumstances. She made a mental note to beat him up later.

"We have been trapped by trolls. Could you shut your mouth for just a minute. We could die!" She cried in annoyance, her cheeks still burning bright red.

"We'll be fine. Gandalf has to come back soon, doesn't he?" Fili pointed out and Eliza had to admit that he was right. The wizard always seemed to know when people were in trouble and he couldn't be that angry at Thorin. 

Meanwhile, Bilbo Baggins had had a brilliant idea. He had clambered up in his sack so he was standing upright and he cleared his throat to catch the trolls attention. 

"What d'you want?" One of them asked when they heard the noise

"Well I just thought I'd let you know that, um, just cooking the dwarves like this won't make them taste very nice." He said weakly, unsure of what to say.

"Oh really? I've eaten plenty of dwarf an' they tasted jus' fine." The one who was turning the dwarf spit roast countered.

"Oh yes but you don't know the secret to cooking dwarf!" The hobbit told them and the dwarf spit roast stopped turning as the trolls looked down at the hobbit in curiosity.

"Well go on!" One of them hissed.

"Go on what?" Bilbo asked in confusion.

"Well what's the secret to cooking dwarf?" The troll continued.

"The secret to cooking dwarf is- um. It's- you have to.... Skin them first." He replied after a minute or two but it sounded more like a question. The response was immediate. The dwarves all turned to glare at Bilbo and they all began shouting at him.

“BAGGINS!”

“WE TRUSTED YOU HOBBIT!”

“HOW DARE YOU!”

Bilbo looked at them all in annoyance and Eliza tilted her head sideways. Mr Baggins wasn’t that much of a fool, he wouldn’t give them up that easily. What was that hobbit up to?

“Skin ‘em?” The trolls said in unison

“I’ve eaten plenty wit’ their skins on!” One squinted suspiciously at Bilbo.

“Yeah! I say we eat ‘em raw!” The smallest troll shrieked and picked up Bombur in his sack and held him above his open mouth, Bombur wiggling around like a panicked worm that has just been caught by a bird.

“Not that one!” Bilbo shouted desperately! “He’s... DISEASED!” He cried in a moment of inspiration.

“Huh?” The troll said, closing his gaping mouth and turning to face the tiny hobbit.

“He’s diseased. In fact, they all are! They’ve got... parasites.” Bilbo said unconvincingly. The dwarves turned to look at him in horror and began repeating his words.

“Parasites?”

“PARASITES?!”

“I’ve not got parasites, you’ve got parasites!”

It was then that Eliza realised what Bilbo’s plan was, what his plan had been all along and she silently cursed herself for not realising quicker and helping out. She kneed Fili in the stomach and he turned to look at her annoyance.

“He’s buying us time, you idiot! Play along!” She hissed and Fili’s eyes widened in realisation. At the same time it seemed as though Thorin had also realised Bilbo’s genius plan and he kicked Kili in the head. All at once, the dwarves realised what was going on.

“I’VE GOT HUGE PARASITES!” They cried and Bilbo sighed in relief.

“But if they all got parasites, what we meant to do with ‘em? Let ‘em go?!” The trolls bellowed, glaring down at poor Bilbo who was baring the front of this attack. He shied away from their intense gaze and began mumbling.

“Well, erm, I suppose... yes that would be quite nice...” 

“He tricked us!” One cried in realisation and the panic was clear on Bilbo’s face. Thankfully for them all there came a reassuringly familiar voice from just outside the clearing. 

“The dawn shall take you all!” It cried as the morning sun rose over the top of a boulder, silhouetting a figure on top with a pointed hat and twisted staff.

The trolls cried out as they realised what was happening but before long all that was left were 3 harmless, yet still extremely grotesque, stone trolls. All the dwarves yelled out in joy and Eliza noticed Thorin quietly congratulating Bilbo on his genius plan. It was hard to ignore the blush that crept up the hobbit's face as he stammered out dismissive points about how anyone could have done it. Gandalf and Bilbo went round releasing them from their sacks or the spit roast they were tied to. When Bilbo reached Fili and Eliza he looked at them in amusement.

“Say a word and I will make you regret it.” Eliza threatened but Bilbo merely grinned at her.

“How will you do that when you’re stuck in that sack?” She groaned at him and gave a look that quite blatantly said ‘just-get-me-the-hell-out-of-here’. Bilbo chuckled once more before untying the pair and Eliza scrambled out as quickly as she could. As soon as everyone was free, she turned on Fili and proceeded to hit him anywhere she could reach. The rest of the company watched, half confused, half entertained as Fili fell over whilst trying to escape Eliza’s blows.

“Don’t you EVER try that crap with me again! You hear me, dwarf?!” She shouted down at him when she felt he had suffered enough.

“Okay, okay I won’t! But did you have to hit me so hard? My head is pounding!”He complained, clutching his forehead. He pulled his hand away and found blood. He looked up in horror.

“I’m bleeding!” He cried in horror, looking up at Eliza as though she were a wild creature. She simply raised an eyebrow at him so he looked towards his Uncle who was trying his very hardest to not laugh. 

“Uncle, I’m bleeding!” Thorin merely smiled at him.

“You’ll heal.” Is all he said, and the rest of the company started to chuckle. 

“Better watch out, Thorin. That’s the second Durin she’s attacked!” Dwalin commented and the rest of the company burst into loud, raucous laughter. Even Fili couldn’t help but crack a small smile. 

“Here.” Eliza offered her hand to Fili who looked at her uncertainly before taking it. She pulled him off the ground and he shuffled uncomfortably.

“Erm, I’m sorry, Eliza.” He mumbled, looking at his feet. 

“It’s fine, Fili, honestly. Just seriously, don’t do it again. I'm just another member of this company and I want to be treated as such.” She said and then she turned and walked away. Fili made a mental note to not be so rude again so as not to incur Eliza's wrath again.


	7. Trouble Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orcs and Wargs chase down Thorin's company, forcing them to go to the one place that they (well, Thorin) do not want to enter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah there. One year on and we FINALLY get an update?! That's right! Finally got my butt in gear and edited the chapter I had so I can post it for you guys. It's weird to look at this fic because the last update came when I was getting ready to start uni and now I'm about to start my second year... 
> 
> Anyways this is the last chapter that I already had at least partially written so who knows when the next part will come? I'm busy writing an original work right now as well as a bunch of one off prompts so be warned that an update might not come for some time. Sorry! <3

The troll cave was an exceptionally grim place. The smell was unbearable and the walls were covered in filth. Everything in the cave was dirty and covered in thick cobwebs. Still, there was gold and elvish weapons which was enough to appease the majority of the company. Even Eliza couldn't help but be tempted by all that glimmering gold and she helped Bofur, Nori and Gloin bury a couple of chests brimming with gold. Gandalf merely rolled his eyes at them and continued to examine the sword in his hand. Despite Thorin's hatred of the dwarves, he kept the sword upon Gandalf's insistence that he "couldn't ask for a finer blade". However, Eliza swore she saw him glaring at the sword a few times, as though it were an actual elf. Bilbo also gained a sword although he didn't seem too happy about it and many members of the company wondered if he even knew how to hold it, let alone wield it in battle. The company left the troll cave in fairly high spirits, chatting about the gold they'd buried or the swords they'd found.  

After a considerably long and tiring walk, the company reached a small grassy valley and Thorin announced that they should remain there and rest for a while. The dwarves threw down their bags and collapsed to the floor in relief. It had been an exhausting night and it was nice to have a rest that didn't involve being tied up in sacks and almost eaten by trolls.  
  
However, not long after arriving, they began to hear rustling in the distance. Everyone reached for their weapons as the noise got louder and louder and was eventually joined by the frantic padding of tiny feet. Thorin moved to the front of the group and held his new sword out in front of him as the noise got closer and closer until...  
  
"Radagast!" Gandalf announced as the brown wizards rabbit drawn sleigh shuddered to a halt beside them. The dwarves sighed in annoyance but Eliza noticed that none of them actually let go of their weapons and they gazed at the newcomer with a mixture of anger and confusion. Eliza and Sterling grinned widely.  
  
"Grandpa!" They shouted and Radagast turned to face them, surprise turning to joy. The other dwarves slowly lowered their weapons, becoming aware that this man probably wasn’t a danger if Eliza and Sterling’s reactions were anything to go by.  
"Liza and Star! Fancy seeing you two here!" He said with a chortle and he crouched down to hug his overly small grandchildren. He eyed Eliza suspiciously.   
  
"Liza, what are you doing here? I find it hard to believe your mother would let you go so far away by yourself." He questioned and Eliza looked up at him guiltily.   
  
"Well, technically speaking, I'm not supposed to be here and neithers Ster..." She admitted. Radagast just tutted and shook his head. He wouldn't tell Skye where they were, but he would tell her that they were safe. She was probably worried sick.

“Anyway, what brings you here Radagast?” Gandalf asked inquisitively. Radagast’s eyes widened as he remembered why he’d made his way to Gandalf as quickly as the rabbits would run.

“Ah yes! Well-” He broke off and looked around quizzically. “Oh bother! It was on the tip of my tongue! Oh... perhaps it’s not a word, perhaps it’s just...” He trailed off as he opened his mouth to reveal a tiny stick insect on the tip of his tongue. Gandalf shook his head and pulled the insect off. The dwarves looked on at the events in pure confusion but Eliza merely smiled and took the stick insect off of Gandalf. It chirped happily at her. 

“Perhaps you can remember now, my friend.” Gandalf said, smiling at Radagast.

“Indeed I can! Oh Gandalf, terrible things are happening in the forest. Terrible, terrible things. Dark forces are creeping in from Dol Guldur!” He said ominously and Sterling gasped.

“Dol Guldur?! The old fortress?” He asked

“Indeed, Star! I went there myself to see what was going on there and you would not believe what I found.” He shuffled closer to Gandalf and lowered his voice “A Necromancer has taken up residence there.”

“A Necromancer? But that’s not possible!” Eliza piped up

“I’m afraid it is true, my dear ‘Liza. He almost took dear Sebastian’s life.” Radagast said, pulling a tiny hedgehog from his pocket. Eliza squealed, passed the stick insect to her brother and grabbed the small animal.

“Poor Sebastian.” She whispered, stroking his nose as he looked up at her.

“Don’t fear; I brought him back to us. Gandalf, we must do something about this new development! We cannot just allow it to continue. The forest already turns dark, they now call it ‘Mirkwood’.” Radagast pleaded.

“Do not worry, my friend, we will speak to the White Council and they shall do something about this.” Gandalf reassured him. Radagast opened his mouth to reply but before any words could come out there was a howl. The company all turned around, looking up at the sides of the valley to see where the noise had come from.

“Wolves? There are wolves out here?” Asked a panicked looking Bilbo.

“Ay laddie. But there’s much worse than that out there.” Bofur replied, picking up his sword.

“What could be worse than wolves?” Bilbo looked even more panicked than he had before.

“Wargs.” Eliza hissed and Sterling whimpered slightly from beside her. There was a low growl from behind them and they turned around just in time to see Kili shoot an arrow into the skull of a gigantic Warg who had pounced on the group.

“Warg scouts! An orc pack must be close!” Thorin announced, pulling his sword from its sheath. The rest of the company pulled out their weapons and grouped closer together.

“We’ve got to leave. NOW!” Fili shouted, trying to drag Eliza away. She shrugged him off.

“Are you crazy?” She snapped, “We go out there, we’re in the open! They’ll be able to spot us from miles off!” She could feel the anger heating up inside her.

“I’ll ride out and distract them!” Radagast said with a determined look on his face.

“No way.” Eliza hissed, narrowing her eyes, “They will catch you, torture you and kill you!”

“Catch me? These are Rhosgobel rabbits, I’d like to see them try!” The old wizard grinned

“Nobody has ever put a Rhosgobel rabbit next to a Warg. You don’t know what will happen!”

“It’s worth a try.”

“Risking your life is not ‘worth a try’!”

“It would be worth it as long as you get out.”

“No. It. Wouldn’t!” She screamed and the second the words left her mouth, a stabbing pain went through her spine and she collapsed.

“Eliza!” Fili and Kili shouted, running to her aid.

“NO!” Gandalf bellowed at them and they froze where they were. Their eyes flicked between the wizard and the curled up body of their companion on the floor, her eyes clenched shut and her fists balled tightly underneath her body.

“You have to- AAH- you have to leave. NOW.” She hissed out, but the words were strained as though even speaking such small words was a struggle. The company hesitated, torn between their need to help their companion and their awareness of the imminent danger they were in.

“What about you though?” Thorin questioned and as if on cue, Eliza let out a blood-curdling screech and doubled over in pain.

“We can’t just leave her!” Ori squeaked from the back of the group, tears welling up in his eyes. Dwalin softly placed his hand on the younger dwarf’s shoulders.

“Aye, he’s right. We can’t leave her to the orcs.” He said, eyes focused on Ori’s worried expression.

“Trust me, we have to.” Sterling said determinedly. The company looked in horror at their youngest member. His eyes were brimming with tears but they were accompanied by a fierce look of determination, the likes of which they had not yet seen in the young boy. But still they hesitated.

“JUST GO!” Eliza shouted and to the group’s horror, sparks appeared to fly from her clenched hands. They turned to Gandalf in panic.

“Fly you fools!” He bellowed, turning on his foot and making a dash for the exit to the valley. Thorin hesitated for a moment before turning around and following the wizard. The other dwarves instantly ran to follow their leader with the single exception of Ori who remained where he was, hovering with his head whipping between his friend and his companions.

“Come on lad!” Dwalin snapped, grabbing Ori by the hand and yanking him along to follow the others. Ori let out a yell and turned bright red but allowed himself to be dragged away. As they left the collection of trees they saw Radagast upon his sleigh bursting from the leaves at a phenomenal speed. It was what followed though that really captured the group’s attention. Whilst the group ran as fast as they could away from the valley, following Gandalf whom they desperately hoped had a plan for getting them out of there, their attention was grabbed by an ear-piercing screech and a huge explosion. The group whipped around to see a cloud of smoke exploding away from where they had left their companion and green sparks flying into the air above the treetops. The dwarves looked at each other in horror and Bofur made a move to run back to the treeline.

“NO!” Gandalf yelled and the force of his words made Bofur pause. “We have to keep going!”

The strength behind his voice made the company exchange looks but dare not question him. Instead they continued to run as fast as their short legs would physically carry them. This may have involved Bofur and Bombur practically dragging poor Bilbo along but no complaints came from the hobbit. The explosion, although making them concerned for Eliza’s safety, had more than anything terrified them into wanting to get as far away from this place as physically possible. The only explanation for the outburst was magic and, although the group appreciated the help that magic could provide, the idea of pure, uncontrolled magic filled them to the core with dread.

Thankfully the company managed to avoid both the smoke and the orc riders for most of their run. However, as Gandalf lead them around a rock to avoid the group that was running worryingly close to them, they noticed that upon the rock was a Warg with a rather grim looking Orc atop it. They all held their breath and Thorin slowly turned to look at Kili. He took a deep breath before dashing forward and shooting the creature with his bow. Unfortunately, the situation had clearly shaken Kili up more than he thought and his aim was not as precise as usual and whilst the Warg was hit, the blow was not deadly and it tumbled off the rock with the loudest howl the company had ever heard and they knew that the noise would have alerted the other Orcs to their presence.

Gandalf realised the situation and so he began to lead the company towards the secret entrance that he knew would lead them to safety. The dwarves followed his instruction but Thorin looked at him suspiciously when he refused to say where they were headed. After what felt like hours of running, the group reached the spot and the wizard dived behind a rock to open the entrance. Meanwhile, the dwarves were trying to fight off the oncoming Wargs and Orcs but considering the only ones of them who had long range weapons were Kili and Ori, they were struggling. Fili and Dwalin had moved forwards to combat the Wargs from up close but they were seriously outnumbered.

Gandalf re-appeared a few moments later and the surrounding dwarves dashed into the newly opened entrance in the ground. Thorin shouted out for the others to return but as Fili turned to return to his Uncle, a Warg blocked his way. He slashed its snout but this further angered the Warg and it wrenched Fili’s swords away, leaving him defenceless for just a moment. Fear filled his features but before the Warg could deliver a deadly blow, an arrow shot out of nowhere and knocked the creature to the ground, blood pooling around its head. Fili raised his head, ready to thank his brother for his aid but to his surprise, Kili was nowhere to be seen, having already dashed towards the entrance Gandalf had discovered. His brow furrowed in confusion but he decided not to question it, instead running to the safety of the newly opened gateway.

Once they were all safe they grouped together, weapons still drawn in case any enemies managed to reach their location. They listened carefully and were surprised to hear the sounds of Wargs and Orcs being killed despite the whole company being underground. The sound of a distinct hunting horn sounded from just outside and their unspoken question was answered. Although it wasn’t exactly the answer the dwarves wanted.

“Elves.” Thorin spat out and Gandalf couldn’t help but roll his eyes at their leader.  

However the noise that followed was certainly not the noise of any elf or orc or warg for that matter. A bloodcurdling screech radiated from outside and the company hissed, blocking their ears to shield themselves from the horrifying noise. Then there were shouts and cheers and the sounds of wargs whining in fear. The company stared at the air above them, hoping to see some sign of what was going on outside. A cloud of vibrant green smoke billowed above the rocks and they all froze, realising exactly what had just happened. It was followed by a limp orc body tumbling into the cavern, its skin covered in painful looking blisters and blood dripping from its open mouth.

The dwarves exchanged a concerned look and slowly backed away from the cavern’s entrance. Shortly after, another body tumbled down into their cavern and they instantly drew their weapons, ready to protect themselves. Only this time, it was Eliza. She let out a groan as her face collided with the sharp rocky walls and she hugged her arms tighter around her, clutching her travelling clothes closer to her body as they appeared to have been shredded in many places. Whether this was the work of the wargs or herself the company didn’t know and they weren’t entirely sure they wanted to find out.

“Liza!” Sterling cried out as he ran towards where she was laying and he pushed her over so that she was lying on her back. Blood was smeared over her face and her skin shone blue and black through the tatters of her clothing. She had worrying blisters along her arms and her hands were the same vibrant green as the smoke they had seen earlier.

“We need to get her somewhere she can be healed.” Gandalf told the company and Dwalin stepped forwards and threw her over his shoulder. He grunted as her weight hit his shoulder but he braced himself and rejected the offer of help from Bifur.

“No, I’m fine! I can walk!” Eliza protested weakly but Dwalin refused to put her down. After kicking her feet for a few paces she stayed still, realising she wasn’t going to get free any time soon. After all, perhaps it was better she was carried until her wounds could be treated. The company continued along the path, towards where they could see a small beam of sunlight. They followed twisting, turning stone pathways that were so narrow that Eliza groaned a few times when her head hit the towering walls. Eventually though, they reached an outcrop overlooking the beautiful city of Rivendell.

Even the dwarves couldn’t help but let out a small gasp at the incredible sight that lay before them. Sparkling blue streams ran between tall marble walls and lush green vines trailed up the sides of golden turrets. Bilbo looked as though he was about to pass out with joy, probably at the mere thought of having comfortable beds to sleep in and even Dwalin looked a little bit in awe of his surroundings. One dwarf who was definitely not impressed, however, was Thorin. Upon seeing the company’s reactions, he clenched his fists and shouted at them to keep walking. They ducked their heads and quickly wiped the awestruck expressions off their faces.

When they made it to the bottom of the valley, they approached the entrance of the elvish home and were met by an elf with long brown hair and an extremely confused look on his face. When he saw Eliza thrown over Dwalin’s shoulder he let out a squeak and ran forwards.

“Miss Eliza!” He cried, reaching out to take her, obviously thinking the dwarves had been the ones to harm her. Dwalin leaned away from him with a scowl and Gandalf reached an arm out to stop the elf. He spoke to him in elvish and the elf reluctantly backed away, still keeping an eye on the girl.

“Where is Lord Elrond?” Gandalf asked him but before the elf could open his mouth to reply, the sound of horns and trumpets in the distance interrupted him. The dwarves whipped around to see a dozen horses with riders charging towards them. They immediately formed a protective circle, with Eliza and Sterling in the centre. Bofur pulled Bilbo behind him so that he too was in the safest position possible as the riders drew ever nearer. Their weapons were drawn as the horses circled the dwarves, towering above them. One of the riders dismounted and walked over to Gandalf with a smile on his face. The two began conversing in elvish which made the watching dwarves roll their eyes in annoyance. The smile faded from the elves face as he turned to look at Eliza and he shook his head, whispering softly to Gandalf. This served to only irritate the dwarves more and they shuffled impatiently. Eventually though, Gandalf turned to face them.

“This is Elrond, Lord of Rivendell. He has agreed to let you stay here for a few days.” He announced and at that Thorin let out an annoyed huff. Elrond turned away from the group and barked out an order in elvish which caused the brunette elf to rush forward and snatch Eliza away from Dwalin who at first attempted to hold onto her, but after a nod from Thorin, let go with only a small grumble. The elf scrambled off with Eliza looking as small as a child in his arms. Sterling remained still for a moment before dashing after his sister, having to jog to keep up with the elf’s massive strides. Gandalf cleared his throat.

“So, Thorin. Do you accept Lord Elrond’s offer of hospitality?” He asked. In answer, Thorin turned to face his company and they conversed in muttered Khuzdul for a few moments. When they had finished, their leader turned to face the elf and with a grim expression he said “yes”.

* * *

After Eliza’s wounds were healed, she had hoped she might be allowed back to the company. Unfortunately it seemed as though the elves of Rivendell had different ideas and as soon as she was allowed to leave, her friends Elrohir and Elladan showed up to drag her in the opposite direction. She groaned when they caught her arms and led her towards the left wing of Rivendell.

“Where are we going?” She asked with a grimace as she was almost literally dragged down the corridors.

“Arwen has demanded to see you.” They replied in sync. That drew an even bigger groan than the one before. Eliza did love the elves of Rivendell but some of them could be a bit overbearing, Arwen especially.

“I have to go back to the company!” She argued feebly.

“And you will!” Elrohir began

“Just after Arwen’s finished with you!” Eladdan finished for him.

“Why does that simple statement terrify me so much?” Eliza complained. Before the twins could change their mind and possibly rescue her from a potentially terrifying fate, Arwen rounded the corner and spotted them. The grin on her face made Eliza even more concerned.

“Eliza! It’s so nice to see you!” The beautiful elf said, crouching down and pulling her into a warm hug which she gladly returned.

“It’s good to see you too Arwen!” She replied. Arwen stood back up and looked down at her with a raised brow.

“Come on, I need to talk to you.” She said, dragging Eliza into the golden door that Eliza knew to be her room. The inside was relatively similar to Eliza’s room in Rivendell, the big plush bed was the same, the wide window was in the same place and even the wardrobe looked similar to hers. The only real difference was the size of everything since, of course, Eliza’s furniture was a perfect match for her side. The other major difference was the walls as whilst the walls of Eliza’s room were covered in sketches and paintings, the walls of Arwen’s rooms were completely clear. In comparison as well, Arwen’s room was completely devoid of clutter whereas Eliza’s was... well she wouldn’t say it was a _complete_ mess but it was nowhere near as clean as this flawless room. Arwen chucked herself down onto her bed.

“So! I heard you’ve gone on an adventure.” She stated rather than questioned.

 “Yes, what about it?” Eliza replied, refusing to give Arwen any more information than she asked for.

“With a bunch of dwarves none the less. What are you up to, mellon nin?” She asked with a wink. Eliza looked at her in complete shock.

“What are you insinuating?!” She asked wide mouthed.

“I think you know exactly what I’m insinuating. It’s about time you got marrie-“

“Woah hold it right there!” Eliza interrupted, “I’ve not gone on a quest as part of a wild scheme to get married! Besides, they’re all old apart from a couple of them like-“ She quickly stopped herself. Why on earth had she said that? Arwen wasn’t going to check to see how old the dwarves were. Now she would have to face an inquisition.

“Oh so there are potential suitors there!” Arwen said, her hands under her chin, leaning forwards intensely.

"Please don't ever say suitors ever again," Eliza grimaced "and no there's not any."  
  
Arwen looked unconvinced.  
  
"Well maybe some of them like you!"  
  
"I'd hope so, it'll be a long journey if they all hate me."  
  
"No, idiot! Maybe you could start courting! It's about time..."  
  
"About time? I've only just come of age!"  
  
"And? Oh I bet those young dwarves will be fighting over you."  
  
"Please stop." Eliza begged. The thought of any of the company trying to court her was enough to make her want to abandon the whole quest and run back to the Blue Mountains.   
  
"Well they'll certainly be falling head over heels when I'm done with you!" Arwen said with the most horrifying grin Eliza had ever seen on the elf’s face. She suddenly caught on to what was being suggested.   
  
"Arwen no."  
  
"Why not?" she replied, looking put out.  
  
"I can think of a hundred reasons why not."  
  
"Please!"  
  
"No!"   
  
"Fine, I won’t let you out of this room then."  
  
"Arwen I think I know how to operate a door."   
  
"Not this door, it’s got enchantments on it."  
  
"Since when?!" Eliza spluttered  
  
"Doesn't matter, you're not leaving until you let me."  
  
"Fine, I'll just chop the door down!"   
  
"With what?" She said with a raised eyebrow. It was then that Eliza realised her weapons had been left behind in the valley. She groaned. Now she'd have to ask Elrohir and Elladan to go get them for her. But she could only do that if she left the room...  
  
Eliza sighed in defeat and threw herself down onto Arwen’s bed.  
  
"Fine. Do what you must."   
  
* * *  
  
After what felt like hours, Arwen decided she was done with Eliza and after informing her of the location of the company, she allowed her out of the room.   
  
Meanwhile, the dwarves were sat at one of the great dining halls of Rivendell, picking at their far too healthy food and wondering where their final member was. The sound of a throat clearing alerted them of the presence of another and they all turned to the source. Standing at the top of the stairs allowed the dwarves to see exactly what Arwen had spent the last hour or so doing.

Eliza’s normally wild hair had been tamed into a braid and Arwen had even gone to the effort  of weaving flowers in with the hair. She had forced Eliza out of the baggy, practical clothes she usually wore and made her put on a long gown, much to Eliza’s disdain. Her face had been scrubbed clean of all dirt and her wounds had been covered up as much as possible. The finishing touch had been some powder and other strange liquids and sticks that Arwen insisted would ‘make her pretty’. All of this work had taken a lot of time and effort on Arwen’s part but she was convinced that it was worth it.

Unfortunately, all Arwen’s work was completely wasted on the dwarves whose concepts of beauty were almost exact opposites of those of the elves. So whilst Lord Elrond couldn’t help but smile at seeing his student not covered in dirt for a change, the dwarves barely managed to conceal their amusement. Eliza realised exactly why her friends were grinning and she glowered at them.

“Nobody. Say. A word.” She hissed and, of course, this meant they had to say something. They collapsed in hysterics, eyes watering.

“You. Look. Hilarious!” Kili burst out through his laughter. Eliza just crossed her arms and stormed over to an empty seat between Kili and Fili who were both still laughing at her unexpected new appearance.

“I hate you all.” She hissed which served to only intensify their laughter. Elrond shook his head at their immature antics.

Eventually the laughter and sniggering died down amongst the dwarves and they grew used to Eliza’s strange new appearance. It also helped that during the chaos that was dinner, with food flying everywhere and roaring laughter, Eliza’s immaculate braids began to separate and the flowers tumbled to the ground. Before long she began to look more like the rugged Eliza they all knew. Of course nothing could be done about her clothing but at the very least she looked a little more like her normal self.

None of the dwarves mentioned what had happened in the valley. They assumed that was what Eliza’s big secret was and it seemed very clear to them why she’d wanted to keep it private. Of course there was still the niggling thought in all of their brains that she could explode with rage at any moment and many of the company had a desperate need for answers. After all, they knew she was a descendent of a wizard but they were fairly sure Gandalf didn’t explode like that when he became enraged. At any rate, despite their lack of tact, the dwarves knew Eliza would be unwilling to discuss the situation any time soon. None of them really wanted to be the one to bring it up and potentially be the victim of her rage and so they all made the agreement in their heads to ask at a later point when she was in a good mood and in a controlled environment. For now then, it was best for them to pretend it had not happened and to lose themselves in their own festivities.

Despite the dwarves discontent with the food offered to them; green food just didn’t seem right to them, they ate everything that they had been offered and yet, as dwarven stomachs are like bottomless pits, they still felt hungry. They had refused the rooms offered to them and so the sat up camp in the extravagant hallways and constructed a campfire where they continued to gorge themselves on foods more appealing to their own tastes; sausages and bacon with not a green leaf in sight.

Not all of the dwarves were able to join in the merriment though. After putting up a great deal of resistance to the idea of sharing his precious map with Elrond, Thorin had finally given in after coming to the realisation that without someone to interpret it, the map was rather useless. Therefore, with much complaining and grumbling about ‘bloody elves’, Thorin gathered Dwalin, Gandalf and Bilbo and made his way towards Elrond’s chamber. No-one was entirely sure why he had chosen to take Bilbo with him, least of all Bilbo himself. Thorin had muttered something to Dwalin about the hobbit having the tact to deal with Elrond but Dwalin wasn’t entirely convinced of this reasoning. After all, if Thorin had wanted to bring someone who could maintain positive relations between the dwarves and the elven lord, surely he would have chosen Eliza. Dwalin mentioned this to his leader and made a brief teasing remark about Thorin enjoying the hobbit’s company. He was quickly silenced after Thorin retorted with some comment about Dwalin ‘enjoying’ Ori’s company too. This quickly ended the conversation between the two.

When the moon runes on the map had been revealed by Lord Elrond, Thorin couldn’t help but smile as he realised that his hopes of reclaiming the mountain were actually achievable. Seeing the smile light up on the stern man’s face after years of sadness and isolation made joy swell up in Dwalin’s chest and as he turned to face Bilbo, he found the hobbit also smiling at their leader. The hobbit had yet to see such a genuine smile from the man and to see the hope he held for his people made Bilbo realise that he wasn’t the cold, closed off being he first thought him to be.

When the rest of the company saw the small group approach them later that evening they too felt a joy in their hearts upon seeing the smiling face of their leader. To see him so happy reassured them that perhaps their journey wasn’t entirely in vain and with their newly interpreted map they found a new strength within themselves. All of them slept well that night and despite the safety of Rivendell, they continued to take turns to go on watch as they had for the past couple of weeks. And if, whilst on his watch, Bofur noticed Thorin gazing protectively at Bilbo, and the way Ori curled up closer against Dwalin’s body, he didn’t say anything, just continued to smile and look up at the stars.


End file.
